Why AI Consumes So Much Water 💧

"The amount of water that AI uses is astonishing"

"According to a report by the Washington Post, if you asked ChatGPT to write you a 100 word email, it uses 519 ml."

But wait what does AI actually do with water?

I've seen tons of viral videos about AI's water "consumption" now. But none of them explain why AI actually uses water. So I prepared some water and asked ChatGPT for a step by step breakdown.

Step 1 is Heat Generation. Computers in data centers generate heat whenever you prompt an AI, stream Netflix, or play a game.

So Step 2 is to cool those computers down. The most common way is by spraying water onto cooling towers where it evaporates. But some data centers will use a closed loop system like cooling tubes.

Next is Step 3, Waste. After reusing the water a few times it's treated and returned to rivers, lakes, or the local water supply. Apparently Microsoft, OpenAI's main investor, even has underwater data centers.

Sources:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DE0jQYDurg6/
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCFE9vkIdyQ/