[LINK] Within years, large AI systems will need as much energy and water as entire nations.

[Tom Worthington]

On 21/2/24 18:37, Stephen Loosley wrote:
> Generative AI’s environmental costs are soaring — and mostly secret
> By Kate Crawford, 20 February 2024
> https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00478-x

Generative AI is the new bitcoin. Pundits used to compete for which 
country they could compare Bitcoin's power use with. Some nominated were:

* Greece 
https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/bitcoin-uses-more-energy-than-american-airlines-and-each-1-billion-in-inflows-is-equal-to-owning-1-2-million-cars-bank-of-america-says/articleshow/81573515.cms

* Ireland 
https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2018/01/16/bitcoin-mining-uses-as-much-power-as-ireland-and-why-thats-not-a-problem/

* Netherlands 
https://portal.craigsip.com/home/insights/overview/is-cryptocurrency-going-mainstream

* New Zealand https://chainometry.com/blog/bitcoin-and-the-blockchain

I put a section on this in my Sustainable computing course: 
https://www.tomw.net.au/ict_sustainability/process.shtml#bitcoin

I tried asking Copilot:

"What country does Microsoft Copilot use as much power and water as?"

It replied:

"Microsoft Copilot, like all datacenters, consumes energy and water. 
Let's delve into the specifics:

1. **Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE)**: This metric gauges how 
efficiently a datacenter utilizes energy. The closer the PUE number is 
to "1," the more efficient the energy use. Microsoft tracks PUE globally 
and across operating geographies. While newer datacenters and those 
operating at peak utilization tend to be more efficient, the goal is to 
get as close to "1" as feasible¹.

2. **Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE)**: WUE measures the efficiency of 
water consumption for humidification and cooling in datacenters. It's 
calculated by dividing the liters of water used by the total annual 
power needed to operate datacenter IT equipment (measured in kWh)¹.

Now, let's address your question. Microsoft's water consumption for its 
cloud data centers increased by **34%** in 2022, totaling **6.4 million 
cubic meters** of water. Generative AI workloads are partly responsible 
for this surge³. However, it's essential to note that this data pertains 
to Microsoft's overall operations, not specifically to Microsoft Copilot.

In summary, Microsoft's datacenters, including those supporting Copilot, 
have a significant environmental impact. However, pinpointing a specific 
country for comparison would require more detailed data. 🌐💧🔌

Source: Conversation with Bing, 22/02/2024
(1) How Microsoft measures datacenter water and energy use to improve 
Azure .... 
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/how-microsoft-measures-datacenter-water-and-energy-use-to-improve-azure-cloud-sustainability/.
(2) Microsoft's water consumption jumps 34 percent amid AI boom. 
https://www.datacenterdynamics.com/en/news/microsofts-water-consumption-jumps-34-percent-amid-ai-boom/.
(3) Microsoft 365 admin center Microsoft 365 Copilot usage - Microsoft 
365 .... 
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/admin/activity-reports/microsoft-365-copilot-usage?view=o365-worldwide.
(4) Measuring usage, adoption, and the impact of Microsoft Copilot. 
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/copilot-for-microsoft-365/measuring-usage-adoption-and-the-impact-of-microsoft-copilot/ev-p/4051091."

-- 
Tom Worthington http://www.tomw.net.au
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