Artificial intelligence (AI) uses large data centers that use high amounts of electricity and water. This is an undeniable fact, especially after Johor no longer approved the construction of data centers that require millions of liters of water per day this year.
In a study conducted by data scientist Alex de Vries-Gao, he said that AI data centers use more water than the amount of bottled water drunk in a year and produce higher pollution than New York City.
His study published in the journal Patterns estimates that AI data centers use between 312.5–764.6 billion liters of water per year. In comparison, 446 billion liters of bottled water are drunk per year. In addition, the amount of CO2 emissions into the air is between 32.6 – 79.7 million tons per year, which is higher than the 52.2 million tons of CO2 released by New York City per year.
de Vries-Gao said the estimates given have a large range because the actual energy and water consumption is not disclosed by the companies that operate it. The lack of transparency makes more accurate data collection impossible at this point.