Do AI Chats Use More Water Than Farming Almonds?

You might have heard a bit of a buzz lately about how much water artificial intelligence (AI) uses. It's a fair question, especially as AI tools like ChatGPT become more common in our daily lives and for Aussie businesses. Recently, Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI (the company behind ChatGPT), claimed something surprising: that 38,000 ChatGPT queries use roughly the same amount of water as growing a single almond.

Now, that sounds like a lot of AI activity for one tiny nut, doesn't it? It certainly got people talking. But here's the catch: experts are finding it really hard to check if his numbers stack up. The problem is, there's not enough publicly available information about how much water these huge data centres — the giant computer warehouses that power AI — actually consume. It's a bit like trying to figure out your neighbour's electricity bill when they keep their curtains drawn all the time.

So, while it's a fascinating comparison, we can't definitively say whether his claim is true or not right now. What it does highlight, though, is an important conversation we need to have. As AI becomes more powerful and widespread, its environmental footprint is something we should all be aware of. Just like any growing industry, understanding its impact, including on precious resources like water, is crucial for everyone.

This conversation is especially relevant as governments, like the one in California mentioned in the original report, start thinking about making data centres share their water usage information. This kind of transparency could help us all get a clearer picture of AI's real-world costs, beyond just the electricity bill. For Aussie small businesses thinking about adopting AI, it’s good to know that these bigger, ethical questions are being asked, ensuring a more responsible tech future.