ChatGPT and similar LLMs use up to 500 milliliters of water for every 20 to 50 prompts or queries users ask, University of California researcher Shaolei Ren reported. In an article published on Arxiv earlier this year, the researcher noted that 500 ml may not seem like a lot, but with the widespread use of ChatGPT by users around the world, water usage can reach very large amounts.
Speaking to AP News, Ren said, “It’s fair to say that most of the water increase in Microsoft’s 2022 environmental report is due to artificial intelligence. This comes from heavy investment in generative AI and partnership with OpenAI. Most people are unaware of ChatGPT’s underlying resource usage. “If you’re not aware of resource use, there’s no way we can help preserve resources,” he said.
Microsoft acknowledged the issue when asked by AP News and said it was exploring ways to measure energy use and carbon footprint. He added that he is also looking for ways to make LLMs less energy intensive.
“We will continue to monitor our emissions, accelerate progress, increase our use of clean energy to power data centers while purchasing renewable energy and other efforts to meet our sustainability goals of becoming carbon negative, water positive and zero waste by 2030,” the company said in a call with AP News. ” said.
OpenAI also separately acknowledged the water use issue and said it was looking at ways to make LLMs more energy efficient.
Most people’s first interaction with generative AI was ChatGPT, which came out in late 2022. However, according to some sources, ChatGPT usage has been decreasing for the last three months. While not a permanent solution, as the number of people accessing ChatGPT decreases, the technology’s water usage will likely decrease as well.
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