Sam Altman says concern about AI water utilization is a “meme” that does not truly maintain any water.
The OpenAI CEO was requested to reply to resistance to AI, together with issues about water consumption, on the premiere episode of the Sources podcast with Alex Heath, printed Tuesday.
Altman stated that whereas they’ve a status for being water guzzlers, fashionable knowledge facilities use about as a lot water as an workplace constructing.
“That has been a sturdy meme and troublesome to disprove, however I do not suppose holds as much as any scrutiny,” he stated.
A 2024 report from a state authorities fee in Virginia — a scorching spot for knowledge facilities — discovered that whereas some services used considerably extra water than others, most knowledge facilities used the identical quantity or lower than a mean giant workplace constructing.
Water consumption has been a central concern within the backlash towards knowledge facilities. A Gallup report printed in Might discovered 71% of Individuals stated they opposed the development of a knowledge middle of their space, with 70% saying they anxious particularly in regards to the environmental influence. Half of the respondents cited the impact on sources, with 18% naming water particularly.
A Enterprise Insider investigation printed final 12 months discovered data centers had been contributing to the water disaster within the West, partially due to water-intensive evaporative cooling methods.
The Information Middle Coalition, an trade commerce group, says data center developers use varied cooling strategies, together with some closed-loop or waterless programs, and that they prioritize environment friendly water practices that account for native water availability.
Altman additionally in contrast the water utilized by ChatGPT to that utilized in rising California almonds, a water-intensive crop. He stated rising a single almond in California requires extra water than is utilized in 1000’s of ChatGPT queries, including “the individuals which are scarfing down 12 almonds at a time do not feel like they’re doing one thing horrible from a water perspective, for probably the most half.”
Enterprise Insider couldn’t independently confirm Altman’s comparability, however the declare that water consumption from rising a single almond is orders of magnitude greater than an AI chatbot immediate typically traces up with obtainable figures. Altman has stated the common ChatGPT query makes use of about 0.32 milliliters of water, whereas Google has stated the common Gemini app textual content immediate makes use of 0.26 milliliters. A 2019 examine by researchers affiliated with the US Geological Survey discovered that rising a single almond in California requires a mean of three.56 liters, rather less than a gallon of water per nut.
Whereas he stated the water issues round AI are overblown, he stated he thinks it is as much as the trade to alter the general public’s minds.
“I believe the appropriate method to get individuals to love one thing is to ship them worth,” Altman stated, including, “The trade has acquired work to do by way of how we make these merchandise straightforward to make use of and simple for individuals to get loads of worth out of.”