AI's Energy Demands Are Out of Control. Welcome to the #Internet's #HyperConsumption Era
Generative artificial intelligence tools, now part of the everyday user experience online, are causing stress on local #PowerGrids and mass water evaporation.
by Reece Rogers
July 11, 2024
"In addition to high levels of #energy usage, the data centers that train and operate generative AI models consume millions of gallons of #water.
"The water that is available for people to use is very limited. It's just the fresh surface water and #groundwater. Those data centers, they're just evaporating water into the air,' says Shaolei Ren, a responsible AI researcher at UC Riverside and coauthor of 'Making AI Less ‘Thirsty’: Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models.'
"While it may appear similar at first, the impact on the local #environment from companies operating giant data centers is not comparable to the impact from residents who may take multiple bubble baths a week or leave the faucet running while they brush their teeth. 'They're different from normal, residential users. When we get the water from the utility, and then we discharge the water back to the sewage immediately, we are just withdrawing water—we're not consuming water,' Ren says. 'A data center takes the water from this utility, and they evaporate the water into the sky, into the atmosphere.' He says the water consumed by data centers may not return to the earth’s surface until a year later.
[...]
"Around the world, the server farms that train and operate AI models may compete with local residents and businesses for power—possibly leading to #blackouts during peak times."
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-energy-demands-water-impact-internet-hyper-consumption-era/
#WaterIsLife #NoNewNukes #RethinkNotRestart #Cryptocurrency #AI #Energy #ArtificialIntelligence #PowerGrids #DataCenters #DigitalLifestyle #Bitcoin #EnergyConsumption
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