🚰 How big the AI thirst trap might be
Iowa data centers need to drink when summers heat up.
If you’re reading this and think you might be at TechCrunch Disrupt September 19-21, hit me up. I may not be there every day, but I’ll be in and out, meeting some new faces and catching up with some old ones. Expect some show notes right here in a future issue of Sidebars.
On the blog last week, I reviewed some numbers that indicate AI is getting thirsty. Microsoft got the spotlight, mainly because of its work with OpenAI and the data available in the company’s most recent environmental report, showing its rising year-over-year water consumption, which is happening even as the company targets 2030 to become net water positive with its operations.
Ultimately, the report showed that Microsoft had a 34% year-over-year increase in water consumption in its 2022 fiscal year, using nearly 1.7 billion gallons.
An Associated Press article got into the situation on the ground in Iowa, where Microsoft facilities were used to do the training that made ChatGPT possible. In July 2022, just before OpenAI finished training GPT-4, Microsoft’s Iowa data centers reportedly took in 11.5 million gallons of water.
These demands shouldn’t go unnoticed, especially as Alphabet and other companies are racing to provide competing AI products. They may not be as public as Microsoft with their water consumption rates. Still, researchers believe users’ questions to large language models may have a cost that is measurable by the milliliter.
Side work
It’s only recreational this week, but I’ve cracked the 80 posts on the way to 100 in the story on "Diesel Springs Science Fair." New players have entered the game.
Side reads and watches
My long-time friend and former colleague Kiel Phegley has a new hockey/"Mighty Ducks"-style graphic novel called "Strikers" coming out, and if you’re on Goodreads, there’s a giveaway you can enter to win a free copy.
How wild are these purported alien remains being shown in Mexico?
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched that season-ending Aaron Rodgers injury in his first game for the Jets.