Each Time You Ask AI for Help, It's a Water and Energy Suck

As the world tries to curb human-caused climate change and not run dry of water, every online query is increasing our environmental footprint and exacerbating the problem. Artificial intelligence and the data centers they require use growing amounts of energy and are water hogs—and AI companies aren't transparent about how much of those resources they use, experts say. Each time you turn to the internet and seek an AI-fueled response, it's gobbling up precious resources, per the AP. "AI is going in the opposite direction to decarbonization efforts," says cognitive computer scientist Sasha Luccioni. "We should be thinking about where we are going [toward]." More:

• The cost: Last year, global data centers used 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity, more than all but 10 countries, and that usage is expected to more than double in the next four years, per a new report from the United Nations University. By 2030, just the electricity that data centers use—not including the massive amounts of water needed to cool them—would require nearly 2.5 trillion gallons of water, which is enough drinking water for the entire world for 1.7 years, says Kaveh Madani, a water scientist for the United Nations University and co-author of the report.
• More numbers: Getting an AI text response is the equivalent to using an efficient light bulb for two and a half minutes, but that's being done 2.5 billion times a day with ChatGPT alone, according to the report and Madani. Using AI to generate a complex video is the equivalent of 42 hours of that light bulb burning and using a gallon of water, he notes.
• Advice from experts: The simple answer is to just use AI less often. Don't use it for calculations, directions, store hours, recipes, or shopping lists, which are all searches people used to do without AI, but now do it with AI, wasting power and water, Luccioni says. "You can generate a chocolate chip cookie recipe with Claude, or you can open a damn book," Luccioni says. "You really don't need Claude." When you do make a query, make it concise—more information translates into more computing and more energy and water used. There's no need to be polite, and don't give unnecessary background info.
• Online: Many search engines, including Google, answer via AI and promote it, without users asking for machine learning to kick in. You have to opt out of AI, when you should have to opt in, Luccioni says. Opt out of AI in Google searches by putting "-ai" at the end of your search, Luccioni says, or click on "Web" in search options.
• It's not too late: "You are not obliged to use AI for everything," Luccioni notes. But, she adds, Big Tech companies are making it hard by "integrating generative AI into everything. ... There's like this bait-and-switch going on."

More here.