ChatGPT causes wildifres?



I didn't even know that until I started researching for this blog post. A report by Goldman Sachs states that one ChatGPT query takes 2.9 watt-hours of electricity compared to 0.3 watt-hours a Google search takes. This is why, AI is blamed for massive carbon footprints, causing global warming. Overheating servers and greenhouse gas emissions are all causes of global warming and hence a direct cause of wildfires.

Shaolei Ren, an associate professor at UC Riverside, discovered that writing one email with ChatGPT consumes 17 ounces of water. There are multiple such AI bots, so imagine the water consumption.

In 2023, Microsoft reported a 29% increase in emissions and 23% higher water use due to technological advancements. Google revealed a 48% surge in emissions over five years, due to AI-powered data centres, according to PC Magazine. 


So, did it cause the LA wildfires? Probably not. But it is one of the significant reasons attributed to further climate change and global warming.  I believe we should start looking for sustainable ways to manage servers, and robots and control their water consumption, because, today, when global warming, climate change and water depletion are the most significant issues; sustainability should be the goal, not an accessory. AI is the future, let's just hope we have a future to use it.


Photos and information from the Firstpost website.

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