ChatGPT suffered an outage yesterday that saw users unable to send queries to the chatbot.
While this likely caused a mild inconvenience for many regular users of the AI bot, the lack of power might have had a positive environmental impact.
This is because ChatGPT is an energy guzzler, according to a report by the Washington Post, which estimated that one response from the chatbot uses around 0.000085 gallons of water.
AI systems, and in particular generative AI, require vast amounts of freshwater to consume as a way to cool off data center servers and generate electricity.
So, by the logic presented in the report, how much water is saved when the AI assistant goes down?
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If ChatGPT is effectively unavailable for three hours then that will save around 3,036 gallons.
Four hours saves roughly 4,047 gallons and six hours has the potential to save a whopping 6,071 gallons of water.
However, other studies suggest that AI bots use up a shocking 39.16 million gallons each day of operation, which if true would mean that 1.63 million gallons are used up per hour.
Many people have taken to social media to share their own thoughts on the water-use of AI, with one user writing on Reddit: “If the data center is operating somewhere that pulls water from an aquifer that replenishes slowly, then yes, from a local water availability standpoint it is lost.”
Another said: “I live in New Mexico. It doesn't rain for the majority of the year, yet they're still guzzling our state's incredibly scarce water resources for a fancy chatbot.”
A third person commented: “The concern I think is that facilities that use massive amounts of water like this will contribute to water shortages in areas that are already struggling like California and Texas.”
And a fourth added: “Water is gone evaporated any small amounts left are so full of chemicals even after treatment not suitable for drinking or agriculture one day 40 million gallons gone. Government spewing water shortage scares for decades....
“People need to wake up , the world as they know it is nothing but entertainment for the Elites of this world. Brain washing has been so successful for hundreds of years hence why history always repeats itself... If it works don't change it..... This game will continue to such time as the people finally see what's been in front of them all along.”