OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says concerns about how much water data centers use to power AI are overblown. He says the idea of them as big water users has become a «persistent meme» that’s hard to disprove. He says growing a single almond in California can use more water than thousands of ChatGPT requests.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says concerns about how much water data centers use to power AI are overblown. He says the idea of them as big water users has become a «persistent meme» that’s hard to disprove. He says growing a single almond in California can use more water than thousands of ChatGPT requests.
This is reported by Business Insider.
During the first episode of the Sources podcast, Altman was asked about opposition to data center construction and concerns about the resources required by data centers. According to him, the average modern data center can use about the same amount of water as a large office building.
«It’s a very persistent meme that’s hard to refute, but in my opinion, it doesn’t stand up to any scrutiny,» Altman replied.
At least in Virginia, one of the major US data center hubs, this comparison is partially borne out by official data. A state study found that most data centers actually used as much water as or less than a typical large office building.
However, there can be a wide variation between individual facilities. For example, in 2023, 11 data center buildings in Virginia used more than 50 million gallons of water each, and one facility used 243 million gallons. So the industry as a whole accounted for about 2.1 billion gallons per year—less than 0,5% of all water withdrawals in Virginia.
To demonstrate the scale, Altman compared ChatGPT to growing almonds, a water-intensive crop. He said that a single almond in California uses more water than thousands of ChatGPT requests. Altman previously estimated the average water consumption of a single ChatGPT request at about 0.32 ml. And a 2019 study estimated the amount of water needed to grow a single almond in California at about 3.56 liters.
«People who eat 12 almonds at a time usually don’t feel like they’re doing anything terrible in terms of water consumption,» Altman noted.
Business Insider notes that Altman’s comparison could not be independently verified. In addition, estimates for data centers and agriculture may count water use differently, so a direct comparison does not tell the whole story.
Altman believes that explanations alone are probably not enough to change people’s attitudes towards AI. In his opinion, the industry needs to first show users why they need these technologies.
«I believe the right way to get people to love something is to give them value. Our industry still has a lot of work to do to make these products user-friendly and enable people to get the most out of them,» he argues.
Previously, dev.ua wrote that Altman estimated one average request to ChatGPT at approximately 0.32 ml of water and 0.34 Wh of electricity.
