{"id":17490,"date":"2026-06-24T15:31:54","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:31:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17490"},"modified":"2026-06-24T15:31:54","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T15:31:54","slug":"ai-is-an-energy-and-water-hog-heres-what-you-can-do-to-counter-that","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=17490","title":{"rendered":"AI is an energy and water hog, here\u2019s what you can do to counter that"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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Artificial intelligence and the data centers they require use growing amounts of energy and are water hogs \u2014 and AI companies aren\u2019t transparent about how much of those resources they use, experts said. So each time you turn to the internet and seek an AI-fueled response, it\u2019s gobbling up precious resources.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is going in the opposite direction to decarbonization efforts,\u201d said cognitive computer scientist Sasha Luccioni, co-founder and chief scientific officer of the Sustainable AI Group. \u201cWe should be thinking about where we are going towards. If you\u2019re recycling and a vegan but then you\u2019re using ChatGPT to do your multiplication for you, well that\u2019s kind of against the trend.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like one other thing among many to think about when you\u2019re like developing these daily habits,\u201d Luccioni said. \u201cIt is not too late. You are not obliged to use AI for everything. You can opt out, you can have a say and you can kind of just like think about how you engage with this technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

But she also said Big Tech companies are making it hard by \u201cintegrating generative AI into everything. \u2026 There\u2019s like this bait-and-switch going on. I feel that nowadays you use the same tools that you used to use, but now they\u2019re generative AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are a few ways climate conscious individuals aren\u2019t completely powerless, said several experts in water use, artificial intelligence, data center placement and environmental sustainability.<\/p>\n

Use AI less<\/h4>\n

The advice from experts is simple: Just use AI less often.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThe cleanest form of AI use is no use,\u201d Kaveh Madani, a water scientist and director of the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health in Canada. \u201cSo when you could avoid using AI, don\u2019t use it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t use it for simple things. Don\u2019t 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 and waste power and water, Luccioni said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, it\u2019s great. You can generate a chocolate chip cookie recipe with Claude, or you can open a damn book. Like, those still exist. You really don\u2019t need Claude,\u201d Luccioni said. \u201cYou really don\u2019t need all of these generative AI technologies to do day-to-day tasks. I do agree there are some productivity gains to be had but I think that it\u2019s a pretty small percentage of what people are currently using.\u201d<\/p>\n

And when you make a query, make it concise because more information translates into more computing and more energy and water used. No need to be polite. Don\u2019t give unnecessary background information, Madani and others said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Every query means more energy use, experts said.<\/p>\n

The power and water cost of a query<\/h4>\n

Last year, global data centers used 448 trillion watt-hours of electricity, more than all but 10 countries of the world, and it is expected to more than double in the next four years, according to a new report from the United Nations University. By then, it will have moved up in rankings to just behind five countries for power use.<\/p>\n

By 2030, just the electricity that data centers use \u2014 not including the massive amounts of water needed to cool them \u2014 would require nearly 2.5 trillion gallons of water (9.3 trillion liters), which is enough drinking water for the entire world for 1.7 years, said Madani, the study\u2019s co-author.<\/p>\n

Getting an AI text response is the equivalent to using an efficient light bulb for two and a half minutes, but that\u2019s 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 (4 liters), he said.<\/p>\n

Lack of transparency is a problem<\/h4>\n

Except for a mention in a blogpost and scant information, private AI companies aren\u2019t transparent about the energy and water costs of queries, said Luccioni and other experts who have tried to calculate those costs. That reality forces them to just make estimates based on less common open source AI.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe have no way of knowing and getting a sense of the amount of energy,\u201d said University of Michigan computer science professor Mosharaf Chowdhury, who tracks energy consumption of open source models.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s no transparency, we have no choice. We\u2019re really not choosing. We are being given whatever is being given to us,\u201d said Ana Pinheiro Privette, a former top sustainability official for Amazon Web Services, who also used to direct the University of Illinois\u2019 water security center and was a data scientist at NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. \u201cThat\u2019s the power. The power is to say \u2018I actually want to understand what I\u2019m consuming\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forced into AI use but you can opt out<\/h4>\n

When you go 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 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEnd users, you and me, we have absolutely no control other than saying \u2018OK we don\u2019t want to use any of it\u2019 and even then the companies force it onto us,\u201d Chowdhury said.<\/p>\n

You can opt out of AI in Google searches by putting \u201c-ai\u201d at the end of your search, Luccioni said. Or you can click on \u201cWeb\u201d in search options.<\/p>\n

There are search engines that reduce their carbon footprints by planting trees and use less energy in their AI, such as Ecosia, Luccioni said. And search engines DuckDuckGo and Startpage have no-AI options.<\/p>\n

Consumers and neighbors have some power<\/h4>\n

\u201cThe big power I think the consumer has is the market message because I\u2019ve seen that when I worked at Amazon,\u201d Privette said. \u201cThey listen. They listen if everybody suddenly starts caring about not having a footprint.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years ago, when data centers wanted to build in an area, it was no problem. Now that they are multiplying in high population centers and people are speaking up and against them, said Privette. For example, data centers in two Virginia counties near Washington used 2.1 billion gallons (8 billion liters) of water in 2023.<\/p>\n

Balaji Tammabattula, chief operating officer of BaRupOn which makes energy-ready data center campuses, said, \u201cthe moment you say that you\u2019re building a data center, there\u2019s a backlash. The data center is the new boogeyman.\u201d<\/p>\n

So he said companies like his have to listen and when they do, they use less water and energy.<\/p>\n

\u201cAI is not going anywhere,\u201d Tammabattula said. \u201cIt has to be done. But it has to be with the help of the community, where we\u2019re understanding the concerns of the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more America 250: How slavery complicates discussions about the Founding Fathers<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Generative AI tools consume massive energy and water. 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