this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2024
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I learned today that every AI prompt uses about 16 ounces of clean water. It was really depressing.
It doesn’t use water in the sense that it is consuming it. It “uses” water in the sense that it is temporarily in a datacenter, gets a little hot, and then leaves the datacenter. I don’t even think a lot of datacenters use actual drinking water, instead taking water directly from a river, warming it slightly, and putting it back in said river.
Not to say I like AI, or think it’s a good thing. But this phrase that’s been going around just bugs me, because it’s really misleading. We should be focused on the ridiculous amount of energy it consumes, not the water it temporarily uses.
From what I learned the problem is they don't put it back in the river, it's just in the coolant systems and stays there. And they won't disclose how much they are actually using.
Well it has to go somewhere, you can’t just take in water forever with nowhere for it to go. So either it’s non-potable water being returned to its source, or it’s closed loop. In either case, it’s not really a problem.
There are two types of cooling systems: Closed Loop and Once Through.
This response consumed 16 oz of water but I am not sure in which manner.