ChatGPT: The Hidden Cost of Artificial Intelligence in Water Consumption
- Dakila News
- 46 minutes ago
- 2 min read
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Understand the news at your own pace: To make the content more accessible while maintaining technical depth, this news story was presented in two formats:
Simplified version: Ideal for those who are not in the field but are curious about the subject.
Technical version: Aimed at readers with prior knowledge or professional interest in the topic.
Choose the reading that suits you best — or enjoy both!
Accessible language:
Have you ever stopped to think that, when you talk to artificial intelligence like ChatGPT, you are indirectly consuming water? It may seem strange, but it is true. Each response generated by this technology requires energy and, surprisingly, water.
According to National Geographic, creating a 100-word text by ChatGPT consumes, on average, 519 milliliters of water. This is because the servers that process this information need to be constantly cooled, and water is one of the main means used for this cooling.
Now, imagine millions of people using ChatGPT daily. If only 10% of the US workforce used this service weekly, annual water consumption would exceed 435 million liters — enough to supply all the homes in a state like Rhode Island for a day and a half.
In addition to water, there is also energy consumption. Each 100-word answer uses about 0.14 kilowatt-hours (kWh), which would be enough to power 14 LED bulbs for an hour. Multiplied by millions of users, this energy consumption is significant and raises questions about the sustainability of these technologies. (Reporting by AI)
Technical language:
The growing adoption of large-scale language models, such as ChatGPT, has raised concerns about their environmental impact, especially regarding the consumption of water and energy resources.
According to a study published in National Geographic, generating a 100-word text using ChatGPT consumes, on average, 519 milliliters of water. This consumption is associated with the cooling of servers in data centers, which use water-based cooling systems to dissipate the heat generated by intensive computing operations.
In addition, the same operation consumes approximately 0.14 kWh of electrical energy. Considering the global scale of use, this energy consumption is substantial. For example, if 10% of the U.S. workforce used ChatGPT weekly, the annual energy consumption would be equivalent to the consumption of all the homes in Washington, D.C., for 20 days.
These data highlight the need for strategies to mitigate the environmental impact of artificial intelligence. Companies like Microsoft and Google have invested in more sustainable solutions, such as the use of renewable energy and more efficient cooling systems, to reduce the ecological footprint of their AI services. (News produced with the help of AI)
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