AI’s Hidden Environmental Costs in Everyday Life

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes a part of everyday life, its massive energy and water needs are coming more into focus.

Marissa Loewen first started using AI in 2014 as a project management tool. She has autism and ADHD and said it helped immensely with organizing her thoughts.

“We try to use it conscientiously though because we do realize that there is an impact on the environment,” she said.

AI is now a feature in smartphones, search engines, word processors, and email services. Every time someone uses AI, it uses energy that is often generated by fossil fuels, releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

AI is largely powered by data centers that field queries, store data, and deploy information. As AI becomes ubiquitous, the power demand for data centers increases, leading to grid reliability problems for people living nearby.

The data centers also generate heat, so they rely on fresh water to stay cool. Larger centers can consume up to 5 million gallons of water a day, which is roughly the same as the daily water demand for a town of up to 50,000 people.