Most students have, at some point, utilized generative artificial intelligence (AI) within the course of their high school careers. Generative AI is most commonly used among students for the purposes of studying due to its adaptability and access to large stores of data. These features are what enable the AI to generate personalized and detailed responses. But how exactly does all of this work, and where does the environment fit in this equation?
Artificial intelligence, otherwise known as AI, is considered to be technology that is capable of processing information and imitating human thinking through the nature of its generated responses. Most large-scale AI deployments are held in data centers, where they are able to pull the information necessary to formulate an answer to any user’s query.
The data centers themselves seem to be one of the major issues concerning artificial intelligence and its environmental footprint. Inside these centers, complex server systems are found. The purpose of these centers is for data storage. Basically, this is where AI gets its facts. At first glance, these data centers seem relatively harmless, as they are basically just storage facilities, but upon closer inspection, you will find that these centers are major consumers of resources such as water and energy.
As data centers house a significant amount of technology, things can get pretty hot. This is where water comes into play. Through the process of liquid cooling, a single data center goes through around 5 million gallons of drinking water per day, which is more than enough to supply thousands of households. To put this into perspective, over 5,000 data centers can be found in the United States. This equates to an estimated twenty-five billion gallons of drinking water used solely for the purposes of maintaining data centers in the US alone.
Aveline Harding, a sophomore, shares, “I think that the progress that we make from AI will not outweigh the negative effect that it will have on our ecosystem and our climate in the long run. Most tech companies emphasize the idea that AI is the future of America and technology, but there will be no future if we continue this overconsumption.”
AI’s water consumption has raised ethical questions surrounding technological progress and sustainable resource usage for quite some time now, especially with recent climate crises like California’s wildfires. California has already grappled with issues in the past regarding water consumption. The Golden State is home to one of the largest agricultural sectors in the US, using around 34 million acre-feet of water annually.
Adding AI to the mix only complicates the management of this resource. California has been deemed a suitable location for AI data centers due to its proximity to major tech companies’ headquarters. Over 270 data centers can be found in the state alone. In 2023, Google reported that its data centers consumed 6.1 billion gallons of water. The depletion of this natural resource has clearly exacerbated environmental issues in the state, which can be seen in the excessive damage caused by the most recent wildfires. Lasting 24 days, the effects of these fires could have been more effectively mitigated with more accessibility to water resources in the affected areas.
“AI is bad for the environment. While we should always try to improve ourselves and innovate, which is the goal of artificial intelligence, we should focus on the fact that we only have one Earth, which we should focus on preserving.” Says sophomore Lauren Saddler.
