How much water does AI actually use?
by KS84 · 9 things on NewTwos
- Currently preparing a session on the impact of AI on the workplace. One of the most common concerns that often comes up is the amount of water AI uses.
- The problem with this discussion is that the amount of water AI uses is a very complex question, but it is safe to say that most people’s sense of the magnitude of the problem is greatly overblown.
- AI uses an estimated 5 billion cubic meters of water annually. In comparison, agriculture uses about 3 trillion cubic meters annually. AI’s usage is minuscule.
- So why is there so much concern about the use of water in AI? Here’s a graph of Google searches globally for the terms water and AI. There was a major spike around June 2025, which begs the question, what happened around that time?
- What happened was that in May 2025, Karen Hao’s book Empire of AI came out, which was an instant hit and heavily criticised AI for its environmental impact.
- It even received two awards in 2025 and 2026 and become an instant New York Times bestseller.
- The problem is that Hao made an egregious error in estimating the water usage of a data centre in Chile, overstating it by 1000x.
- To her credit she accepted her mistake when it was pointed it out to her and informed her publisher of the mistake.
- But of course, as they say, a lie can travel around the world in the time it takes the truth to put its pants on. Even though in this case it wasn’t a lie so much as a mistake, the mistake had taken on a line of its own and become misinformation.