The operation of ChatGPT and its rivals relies above all on gigantic data centers which are constantly running to respond to our requests. To see it more clearly, the Washington Post has just published a very informative infographic. The journalists notably took up the work of Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, in order to evaluate the water and electricity costs of these technologies. They then cross-referenced this data with various reports on energy consumption in the United States.
Huge water and electricity consumption
For example, a 100-word AI-generated answer requires a little more than a bottle of water. The addition of prompts, which number in the millions, tends to cause data centers to overheat. To protect them, this heat must be transported out of buildings via cooling towers. According to environmental defenders cited by the American media, data centers are often among the biggest consumers of water in the cities where they are installed.
Concerning electricity, the example given is even more impressive. A single 100-word message from the chatbot is equivalent to the consumption of 14 LED bulbs lit for one hour.
This is particularly obvious in the state of Virginia, where we find the largest concentration of data centers in the world. On site, citizens have also mobilized to denounce this energy gap and these very noisy buildings which generate very few jobs, while destroying the value of their homes.
Tech giants defend themselves
Criticized, the large technology companies indicate that they have taken measures to rectify the situation. For example, Craig Cincotta, CEO of Microsoft, said that his company “remained committed to reducing the intensity with which we withdraw resources”. He adds that the Redmond firm is working on data center cooling methods that “will completely eliminate water consumption”.
Studies have already pointed out this danger
This is not the first time that the energy-consuming side of these chatbots has been singled out. This is for example the case of Alex de Vries, employee of the central bank of the Netherlands and creator of the Digiconomist site. This portal makes it possible to measure and alert the general public about the energy impact of new technologies.
According to him, AI could follow the same trajectory as cryptocurrencies: “Quoted by the New Yorkerthe specialist emphasized: “I saw that it had a similar capacity and had the potential to have a similar growth trajectory in the years to come, and I immediately felt driven to make sure people were aware that “it is also a technology with high energy consumption”.
Finally, let us mention this study carried out in 2023 by American scientists. They estimated that training GPT-3 in Microsoft’s data centers required 700,000 liters of fresh water, which is equivalent to the amount of water needed to cool a nuclear reactor.
Coincidence or not, the Tech giants are eyeing this source of energy and innovations to ensure the supply of their data centers. To find out, do not hesitate to consult our analysis here.
