r/Anticonsumption • u/Sad_Butterscotch7063 • 2d ago

Discussion Does anyone avoid using ChatGPT because of its water usage?

Hey, I recently came across something about how using ChatGPT, Blackbox AI and similar AI tools actually consumes a surprising amount of water (cooling data centers, I guess). Made me wonder, have people here stopped or reduced using it because of that?

Curious how others are thinking about it in terms of sustainability and personal impact.

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u/Either-Mud-3575 2d ago

I can't find anything about this.

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u/BeeWhisper 2d ago

it's a bitcoin mining data center rather than a Gen AI one, but it's Greenidge Generation on Seneca Lake in NY: https://waterfrontonline.blog/2022/10/07/greenidges-warm-water-discharges-heated-seneca-lake-beyond-state-limits-but-dec-wavier-excuses-violations/

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u/Either-Mud-3575 2d ago

/sigh/ Casually ignoring the goalpost moving from "AI" bullshit to cryptocurrency bullshit, this is complicated by the fact that it's not just a datacenter but a power plant. Specifically, it's a natural gas powered steam turbine power plant, as stated https://www.gem.wiki/AES_Greenidge_power_station#cite_note-autoref_1-2.

When most people use steam turbines, the exhaust steam is condensed in an enclosed chamber, so that the shrinking of steam into liquid water creates a suction force, which increases the efficiency. This condensation is made possible with cooling water taken from some water source nearby.