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/Additional-One-7135 1d ago

Consume? What the fuck do you think they're doing in these data centers? Disassembling the water down to the atoms? It's liquid cooling, it isn't "consuming" the water. Thats like saying the liquid cooling in someone's desktop PC is consuming water. It's a closed system.

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u/ktown247365 1d ago

Data centers use water in their cooling systems to maintain optimal operating temperatures for IT equipment. Water is often sprayed onto heat exchangers or directly into the air stream to cool the air entering the data center, a process that involves evaporation and thus water loss. This means data centers need a reliable, continuous source of water to replenish the lost water.