Water covers 70% of Mother Earth and is the most essential and important element for all living things to survive. But the fresh water we need to drink and irrigate our farms is only 3% of the world’s water, and more than two-thirds of that is hidden in frozen glaciers. However, most people do not understand. It cannot be consumed.
Some organisms derive up to 90% of their body weight from water. Did you know that 60% of an adult’s body is water? For babies, it’s close to 80%.
We must consume water every day to survive. Adult men need about 3 liters (3.2 quarts) per day, and adult women need about 2.2 liters (2.3 quarts) per day.
As a result, approximately 1.1 billion people around the world lack access to water, and a total of 2.7 billion people experience water scarcity for at least one month of the year. Inadequate sanitation is also a problem for his 2.4 billion people, exposing them to cholera, typhoid and other water-borne diseases. Each year, 2 million people, mostly children, die from diarrheal diseases alone.
According to the United Nations Environment Report, almost two-thirds of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least one month a year, and by 2030, this disparity will worsen, with almost half of the world’s population experiencing severe water scarcity. is expected to face. water stress. To avoid this fate, water use should beIt aims to “decouple” from economic growth by developing policies and technologies to reduce or maintain consumption without compromising performance.
The need for water is fundamental to our ability to survive. But we have a big problem, and it’s accelerating.
At the same time, we are moving forward at a breakneck pace to drive AI into every aspect of the world, business, leisure, every process, every industry. And are we thoughtful and careful about our environmental impact? Integrative and ethical design principles.
With the rise of generative AI, companies such as Alibaba, Amazon, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, Nividia, Salesforce, and SAP are all significantly increasing their water usage; Concerns have been raised about the sustainability of the practice. global freshwater shortage and the challenge of climate change.
Tech giants are significantly increasing their water needs to cool data centers due to increased demand for online services and generative AI products. Cooling AI servers consumes a lot of water, and data centers use cooling towers and air mechanisms to dissipate heat. Up to 9 liters of water is evaporated for every kWh of energy used.
The United States depends on large amounts of water thermoelectric plant This indirectly increases data center water usage, with an average of 43.8L/kWh consumed for power generation.
wafer manufacturing Low recycling rates result in high water usage, and limited transparency of actual usage data increases water usage in the supply chain.
companies like microsoft, Googleand meta Through various environmental projects, they aim to replenish more water than they consume by 2030 and pledge to reduce their impact on the environment.
Can you really believe this – it sounds nice, but what if there’s not enough water?
Already, water usage from AI is predicted to reach 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027, demonstrating the need to address water usage.
conclusion
Due to the incredible scarcity of fresh water globally, increased water usage in data centers is of great concern. CEOs and boards of directors investing in AI should ponder the following three questions that are giving AI pause.
1.) How will your AI strategy impact water consumption and how will you replenish the water draining from Mother Earth?
2.) Will investments in AI cause more social problems than benefits?
3.) Have you quantified the social risks in the business case for AI investments, and is your board involved in considering stakeholder and brand reputation risks against ESG goals?
This situation is reminiscent of systems thinking theory, which says that pushing one aspect of change only spills over into other areas, creating more risks and potentially even greater risks.
Integrated, holistic thinking is key to evolving AI in line with enterprise objectives. Our tech giants have opened a Pandora’s box of AI, but this isn’t going to stop anytime soon, and it remains to be seen how we will be ethically and socially responsible.
We know that we are not leading by example in the progression and stagnation of climate change and global warming, as we are accelerating the risks of water consumption, which requires further regulation and oversight.
After reviewing EU law, US AI law, and Canada’s AIDA, it appeared that creating environmental water protection guardrails through AI was not integrated into our design thinking. We may be missing some connections, but it seems like we are focusing on classification. Regulation of high-risk applications and their impact on work and the environment.
Perhaps it is time to integrate clearer environmental regulations regarding the water consumption needs of AI.
Research source:
AI Secret Newsletter, February 25, 2023.
Mitchell, HH, Hamilton, TS, Steggerda, FR, and Bean, HW, 1945, The chemical composition of the adult human body and its effects on the biochemistry of growth: Journal of Biological Chemistry, v. 158, issue 3, p. 625. -637.
Water Properties: Environment Canada
United Nations Environment Program Report.See report
Water shortage blog. See source.
follow me twitter Or LinkedIn. check out My website and other works can be found here.
