Artificial intelligence "consumes" more and more water and energy

Water and energy consumption is becoming a problem as technologies develop explosively. Artificial intelligence (AI) not only raises concerns about jobs and human rights, but also risks having a huge impact on the environment. Experts in this field estimate that the demand for AI will lead to an increase in the extraction of underground or surface water that will be between 4.2 billion and 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027. This represents about half of the amount consumed of the United Kingdom each year. In addition, the explosive development of generative artificial intelligence could further increase the demand for energy and water. The problem lies in so-called large language models, which are at the heart of new AI technology and which are capable of processing large amounts of textual, numerical and other data. To work, these models require huge amounts of computing power and the use of server farms that use chilled water, some of which can be reused, to cool equipment by absorbing heat from the air. The Financial Times reported that in 2022, the increasing use of data centers led to a 34% increase in water consumption for Microsoft, 22% for Google and 3% for Meta. In total, according to the International Energy Agency, data centers, cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence accounted for almost two percent of global electricity demand in 2022. This figure could double by 2026, almost reaching power consumption electricity of Japan. ChatGPT parent Sam Altman sounded the alarm at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, saying a major energy breakthrough is needed to power future artificial intelligence. The OpenAI CEO also said, however, that this breakthrough should be fueled by climate-friendly energy sources such as nuclear fusion or cheaper solar power.