Artificial intelligence ( AI) is becoming increasingly ubiquitous in everyday life. It encompasses everything from searching for information, creating images, assisting with work, and even providing a place to share one's feelings. This technology relies on large numbers of computers located in data centers.
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Behind this convenience, there is one environmental impact that perhaps not many people know about, namely water use.
So, is AI really reducing the amount of water on Earth?
Simply put, AI doesn't make Earth's water disappear. Water continues to follow the hydrological cycle: evaporating, forming clouds, falling as rain, flowing into rivers and oceans, and then evaporating again.
The problem is not the loss of water from the planet, but rather the reduced availability of fresh water that humans can use at certain locations and times.
AI requires computers with high processing power. These computers generate significant amounts of heat when in use, especially when training or running large AI models.
To prevent devices from overheating, data centers require cooling systems. Some facilities use water to help dissipate this heat.
In other words, the greater the AI computing needs, the greater the energy and cooling needs, potentially increasing water usage.
One of the easiest ways to understand this problem is to imagine computers on a very large scale.
If a computer is used continuously, its temperature will increase. Data centers that run thousands to millions of computing devices face the same problem, but on a much larger scale.
Some cooling systems use water that can then evaporate to remove heat from the facility. This evaporated water is not immediately available to residents in the same area.
Research on AI's water footprint shows that water use can come from two main sources: direct use for data center cooling and indirect use from power plants that supply energy to data centers.
This means that AI's water footprint doesn't just come from the visible water used inside data center buildings.
Electricity also has a relationship with water use
AI requires large amounts of electricity. Data centers running AI services must operate around the clock and require high computing power.
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