China's growing data centers, artificial intelligence could deplete scarce water resources: report

China’s thirsty data centers and rapid growth artificial intelligence (AI) could dramatically increase demand on the country’s water resources, according to a new report from think tank China Water Risk.

The Hong Kong-based nonprofit estimated the annual water consumption of data centers in China it is about 1.3 billion cubic meters (343 billion gallons), enough for residential use for 26 million people. By 2030, the figure could reach more than 3 billion cubic meters as more data facilities are expected to open, equivalent to the demand of a population larger than that of South Korea.

Data centers consume water directly to prevent information technology equipment from overheating. They also consume water indirectly from coal-fired electricity generation.

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The team projected that by the end of the decade, China would have more than 11 million data center racks, housing servers, cables and other equipment. That’s almost triple the amount it had in 2020, around 4 million.

The rise in generative AI technology Demand for water from the information and communications technology (ICT) industry is also expected to increase.

“Along with its enormous computing power, AI Chatbots drink staggering amounts of water to cool down,” says the report released Friday.

He pointed to a preprint (meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed) study last year by U.S. researchers that showed the GPT-3 large language model consumed 500 milliliters (16.9 fluid ounces) of water per every 10 to 50 responses you generate. This is 20 times more than what it takes to perform 50 Google searches.

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The think tank report noted that chatbots have a growing user base, and Chinese tech giants including BaiduTencent and Alibaba launched its own AI services last year, adding to the potential impact on water consumption. Alibaba is the owner of the South China Morning Post.

The report said that if 100 million users had a conversation with ChatGPT, the chatbot “would consume 50,000 cubic meters of water – the same as 20 Olympic swimming pools – while the Google search equivalent would only consume one swimming pool.”

CT Low, co-author of the report and geospatial risk lead at China Water Risk, said the accelerated development of generative AI would add pressure to the country’s already stressed water resources.

“Nearly half of China’s data center racks are located in water-scarce regions, which are as dry as the middle East,” he said.

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Lead author Debra Tan, director and director of China Water Risk, said improving energy and water efficiency with existing technology were simple solutions to address water risks.

“We recommend businesses and the financial sector assess rapidly evolving climate and water risks and select coherent policies. climate strategies to survive them,” Tan said.

“For the ICT sector, now is the time to address water risks; we must address them before the AI explosion,” Tan said.

He said China’s ICT giants are encouraged to become “water neutral” or “water positive,” goals their Silicon Valley counterparts such as Meta and Google are also pursuing.

A water-neutral company is one that offsets its water footprint, while a water-positive one replenishes more than its water footprint, ideally after reducing water use as much as possible, according to the report.

Strategies to minimize and offset water use include watershed restoration, improving water efficiency at existing facilities, wastewater reuse, and rainwater harvesting.

Tan added that the Chinese government was taking steps to manage rivers holistically, “from their source to the sea,” and could be expected to adopt stricter regulations and water use effectiveness standards for the ICT sector. .

According to the report, more than three-quarters of China’s data center racks are located in the basins of three rivers: the Yellow River, the Yangtze River and the Pearl River.

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