AI has an unquenchable thirst for water
Machines that think need a lot to drink -- and AI's H2O addiction will only grow greater over time
Robot relaxing poolside on a hot summer day. Source: Midjourney.
It's been said by people smarter than me that the next world war will not be about oil, it will be about access to clean drinking water. And now, it seems, we may be arm wrestling the robots for it.
AI is a thirst trap [1]. It needs water almost as much as we puny humans do. And that could turn out to be a huge problem as AI use continues to explode, while clean water becomes more scarce.
Per a recent AP news story:
In its latest environmental report, Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons, or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools), a sharp increase compared to previous years that outside researchers tie to its AI research...
In a paper due to be published later this year, [researchers at UC Riverside] estimate ChatGPT gulps up 500 milliliters of water (close to what’s in a 16-ounce water bottle) every time you ask it a series of between 5 to 50 prompts or questions. The range varies depending on where its servers are located and the season. [2]
By comparison, Google consumed roughly twice that — 3.4 billion gallons — in all of its US data centers in 2021. In 2022, Google's number rose to 5.6 billion gallons, or enough water to cover 17,000 football fields one foot deep. [3]
Even worse, 90 percent of that water was potable. What — and I mean this with all due respect — the f**k? Google says that most of that freshwater came from areas with "low water stress." Like, I dunno, Mars? [4]
Amazon says it uses recycled H2O (treated wastewater and rainwater) in 20 of its 125 data centers worldwide, and has plans to be "water positive" by 2030 — returning more water to communities than it consumes, for use in things like irrigation. (Microsoft, Meta, and Google have also committed to that timeline for water positivity.)
Great idea. But still there's no good reason to use anything other than gray water to tell AI to chill the hell out. I'd like to think that every time I flush my toilet, I'm making ChatGPT a little smarter.
Water water everywhere…
The good news? All of the big tech companies are moving (slowly) toward more sustainable water solutions. For example, Google is switching to 'air-cooled' data centers in areas (like Arizona) where freshwater is as rare as Google search results without at least four ads at the top. These companies are implementing new cooling methods that use far less water, and putting data centers in geographies that don't get so hot, like Sweden and Iceland.
Microsoft has even experimented with putting its data centers under water. It sank a mini-data center the size of a cargo container 117 feet below the surface of the sea off the coast of Scotland. It looked a little like this:
Sing it with me: Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? Source: Fandom.
This is what it actually looked like.
Microsoft's Project Natick, after 2 years beneath the brine. Source: Microsoft.
When they hauled it up it was covered in barnacles and sea anemones the size of cantalopes. It ran for two years pretty much flawlessly, with a machine failure rate 1/8th that of land-based data centers, because the container was filled with nitrogen (less corrosive than oxygen) and didn't have any techs inside fumbling around and breaking things. Like this guy:
It was also 100 percent powered by wind and solar. How cool is that? With 40 percent of the world's population living within 60 miles of a coastline, underwater data centers could prove a viable alternative to building more ugly computer condos on land.
We are all H2-hoes
In our technology-addicted smartphones-surgically-attached-to-our-fingers era, we tend to sneer at dirty industrial-age smokestack industries. But so-called clean tech is anything but, and AI is going to make things much worse. (I haven't even touched on how much electricity these data centers require.)
And while I'm pointing fingers... according to Corgan Research, 40 percent of the water humans consume is wasted due to leaks and overuse. So we could all do a better job of not being such thirst traps. [5]
Even ChatGPT would agree with that.
How much water do you waste each day? Fess up in the comments below.
[1] Because I am old, I had to have someone explain this phrase to me. Basically, it's something that makes you go 'Damn, I'd like to see more of that', usually involving a human in a bikini. For example, my Instagram feed is roughly 72% thirst traps, 4% photos from people I actually know, and 24% ads for clothing to make me look less fat.
[2] The reason? Trillions of electrons zipping around billions of circuits inside thousands of computers generate a ton of heat. When these machines get above 75 degrees, they start to melt like snowcones on a sidewalk in Scottsdale. Hence the need for water cooling.
[3] Another way this number has been expressed: Enough water to keep 37 golf courses green all year. US golf courses consumed 1.68 million acre feet of water in 2021, or 547,512,000,000 gallons. In other words, we'd save a hell of a lot more water by banning golf. How well do you think that would go over in Heartland America?
[4] Fun fact: Though roughly 75 percent of the Earth's surface is covered with water, only 0.25 percent of that is drinkable by humans. Feeling a bit dry in the mouth? I think I could use a drink.
[5] Like a lot of people in California, I keep a bucket next to the toilet, where I collect otherwise wasted water and use it to flush. It's also helpful if Frances McDormand stops by and needs to use the loo. Please let me know if you get that joke.