China Water Risk reports that the nation’s water resources may be severely strained by the country’s rapidly expanding artificial intelligence sector. Data centers, which are essential to the development of AI, use enormous volumes of water for cooling.
According to the report, China’s data centers currently use 1.3 billion cubic meters of water, which is equivalent to 26 million people. This amount may triple by 2030, surpassing the water requirements of all South Koreans.
Who’s at fault? The number of data center racks is expected to increase significantly, from 4 million in 2020 to 11 million by 2030. The problem is made worse by the potent new technology known as generative AI. According to reports, AI chatbots such as GPT-3 utilize a staggering amount of water for cooling—20 times more than Google searches for every user interaction.
With millions of users interacting with Chinese tech giants’ AI services like Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba’s offerings, the water consumption adds up quickly. The report estimates 100 million users interacting with ChatGPT could consume water equivalent to 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
“Almost half of China’s data center racks are located in water-scarce regions,” warns CT Low, co-author of the report. This adds pressure to already stressed resources.
The ICT industry is urged to respond immediately by the report. Utilizing recycled water, gathering rainwater, and enhancing water efficiency in already-existing buildings are some solutions. Furthermore, China’s tech behemoths are urged to aim for “water neutrality” or even “water positive” status by replenishing more water than they use, following the example set by businesses like as Meta and Google.
There is some hope because of the Chinese government’s initiatives to better manage rivers and maybe impose harsher laws on the ICT industry. China can reduce the hazards to its water resources caused by the AI boom by taking proactive actions.