ChatGPT and college students go together like bacon and eggs, it’s common to see students using ChatGPT to fix grammar, generate ideas, or help with homework. I, myself, have developed a bond with AI and use it daily for many tasks. AI has become a convenient partner in my life. However, I recently fell into a conundrum when my friend asked for my advice on how to write an email. I replied as anyone else would, “Just have AI write it for you,” but they responded, “I don’t want to use up the water.”
After some further explaining, I learned that ChatGPT and other AIs use around 16 ounces of water per search, that’s about one water bottle’s worth. It wouldn’t be good if Large data centers overheat, so they rely on water as an on-site cooling system.
At first, I never thought of ChatGPT and the environment together. In my mind, ChatGPT was just a little microchip or something futuristic and “sciencey”. However, AI uses a large amount of natural resources. Large AI systems consume a lot of electricity and require areas of land just to be built. These centers take up large amounts of power, and AI becomes more intelligent and widely used, this number is projected to double by 2026 compared to 2022.
When clean water is prioritized to cool data centers instead of being available to communities in need because they are facing droughts or have limited access to clean water, it becomes an ethical dilemma. Furthermore, the electricity that powers ChatGPT often comes from burning fossil fuels, increasing the strain on natural resources, not to mention the resources required to build the hardware.
While companies do consider environmental impacts in developing future technologies, it’s also important for the public to understand how using these technologies affects the environment. We’re conscious of water use when brushing our teeth or fixing water leaks. The same mindset should be applied when using AI.
By asking ourselves, is it really worth a bottle of water? Is it something you can learn or do on your own? Asking myself these questions has helped me reflect on how I use AI.
