Report: Data Centers Guzzling Enormous Amounts Of Water To Cool Generative AI Servers
SiliconANGLE , Monday, September 11,2023
Generative artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT are known to consume vast amounts of energy, but few people are aware of the enormous amounts of water required to keep them up and running too.
n their latest environmental reports, Microsoft Corp. and Google LLC - two of the leading players in the generative AI industry - reported a massive spike in the water consumption of their data centers, which experts attribute to the growing popularity of AI models.
An article in the Associated Press published Saturday reported that Microsoft's data center water use increased by 34% from 2021 to 2022. The company slurped up more than 1.7 billion gallons, or 6.4 billion liters, of water last year, which is said to be enough to fill more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
It was a similar story with Google, which reported a 20% spike in its water consumption over the same timeframe.