AI's Appetite
By Audrey Parman | Features | Feb. 21, 2025
As it has grown in popularity and usage, artificial intelligence has become controversial,
with debate frequently centered around ethical concerns; inaccuracies, bias, and copyright issues
in responses are often cited. Less attention, however, seems to have been drawn to the magnitude
of the energy consumed to generate these responses. Despite the simplicity of using AI, each task
it performs requires a certain amount of energy, and with that, the natural resources from which
the energy is derived.
AI is notorious specifically for its “water footprint” as it uses varying amounts of water
for each kilowatt-hour, according to the International Energy Agency. Water is needed to
generate the hydroelectric energy AI uses to function and cool its servers when this energy usage
causes it to heat up. These uses add up to great amounts of resources being consumed each day.
“[Water] is being dumped onto these servers and is getting scarcer,” said film teacher Mr.
Brandon Cox. “I think [this] is the environmental impact that is more exclusive to AI than other
tech.”
According to the University of Iowa, about 7.6 liters of water is used for each
kilowatt-hour of energy AI utilizes and an extra one to nine liters depending on the external
temperature for cooling. For a large company such as Google, this totals up to an average of
about two million liters per day. Depending on the size of the data center and the climate of its
location, the water consumption will vary. To combat this, many companies are taking pledges to
monitor and ultimately decrease the water they use.
For example, Google, along with Microsoft and other companies, has pledged to be
“Water Positive by 2030,” a global initiative taking efforts to curb this rising intake. Although, this has proven a challenge to the committed companies who do use AI, as its usage has
increased rapidly in the past years. Especially in the United States, its growth is being heavily
promoted by the Trump Administration.
According to Google, “Fresh, clean water is one of the most precious resources on
Earth...we're taking urgent action to support water security and healthy ecosystems.” While AI consumes so much water, less is used by an internet search, which does not require as much energy. In comparison to the energy that generative AI uses, Googling uses about nine times less energy, per the IEA. While this is less than other kinds of technology may use, like streaming on a television or even using a toaster, prompt upon prompt entered into AI chatbots and image generators can cause a large increase in an electricity bill, which makes charges by the kilowatt-hour.
At Stanton College Preparatory School, these numbers do add up since many students use
AI, whether for school related reasons or recreationally. AI chatbots have become a major aspect
of student life because of how easily they can be used in studying or as assistance on homework.
Whether students are aware of its environmental impact or not, it is still used often.
“I heard from a news article that [AI] uses quite a large amount of energy, so that’s a little
bit concerning,” said senior Antuan Gatlin. “[But] I [still] use it sometimes.”
However, not all students share this mindset. Others are less inclined to use AI for
various reasons. This includes those who avoid it because of their awareness of the resources it
consumes.
“I don’t like AI at all,” said freshman Olivia Snyder. “I know about how much water it
uses per question and I know how much energy it takes just to run [it].”
In the digital age, many daily activities require large amounts of energy and in turn,
water. Being aware of the electricity used by technology, especially with AI, can provide its users
an idea of the costs financially and environmentally. Remaining up to date on this information is
also helpful as these numbers are projected to increase as advancements are made to both AI and
other technologies.