WORLD WATER DAY: THE HIDDEN WATER COST OF AI YOU MIGHT NOT REALIZE

Artificial Intelligence (AI), like a friend, is one call away—in our devices tucked in our pockets, on our smartwatches, and on nearly every screen. Yet this constant presence relies on a resource that is just as essential to life as companionship: water.

Every March 22, we celebrate World Water Day, a day to remind the world of the importance of protecting water resources, promoting sustainability, and raising awareness about responsible water management. While about 71% of the Earth is covered by water, only around 3% is freshwater, and less than 1% is readily accessible for human use, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). With this in mind, an important question follows: as AI advances to make life easier, are we also considering the environmental cost that comes with it?

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations formally recognized in 2010 that everyone has the right to access water that is safe, sufficient, continuous, affordable, and physically accessible for personal and household needs. While this right may seem straightforward, it is far from easy to realize for many people, and access to safe water remains a daily struggle. Many countries in the Middle East and Africa, such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Yemen, and Ethiopia face severe water shortages due to a combination of environmental and infrastructural factors. This illustrates that, even though water covers most of our planet, accessible freshwater remains limited. 

EESI states that a single large data center can consume up to five million gallons of water per day, which is comparable to the water use of a town of roughly 10,000 to 50,000 people. Human water consumption for AI varies depending on its use, with different types of models, data processing, and cooling requirements affecting how much water is used. Across the globe, many AI companies such as ChatGPT, Gemini AI, Microsoft, and META are taxing water resources through their data centers; and as AI continues to expand, this demand is only set to grow.

Because the surge for AI is largely driven by how people use it, users have a significant role in its overall impact. This makes the responsible use of AI an important duty for everyone who relies on it. AI might not be the only factor contributing to water scarcity, but each use adds to the overall demand, making users contributors to this problem.

When AI is used deliberately and conventionally, even when humane alternatives exist, it can compromise accuracy, take over the function of something humans created for a concept, and steals someone’s job. Consulting AI instead of a doctor or legal professional, relying on AI over library resources, seeking AI advice rather than a friend’s counsel, watching AI-generated videos, listening to AI-created music, or producing AI-generated images—rather than embracing human creations and experiences—these are common practices that gradually become normalized, all while quietly corrupting the human connections and creations we have always valued.

Moreover, when AI continues to be used mindlessly for these purposes, water is wasted, and each lost drop reduces availability for households and ecosystems—burdening the communities and the environment. Just as careless AI use can replace human creations, careless water use gradually erodes the resources that sustain life.

Responsible use of AI begins with self-awareness and thoughtful questioning. Asking when and why AI is used should not be viewed as ignorance or as something not very necessary; instead, curiosity about what is not yet understood encourages responsible and informed use. From this awareness, AI can be treated as what it is intended to be—an assistant that supports human tasks, decision-making, and productivity, rather than an authority or a replacement for human creation and responsibility. 

This awareness can be followed by using AI only when necessary, as a tool for support, choosing simpler or non-digital alternatives when available, limiting usage to reduce unnecessary consumption, and keeping in mind that each use requires resources such as energy and water for data processing and cooling.

The scarcity of freshwater may not always feel frightening for those who have easy access to drinking water, those who can drink six to eight glasses a day, more or less. It may not seem alarming in everyday moments, like enjoying an iced coffee or matcha, yet  beyond these ordinary comforts, there are people who experience this scarcity—feeling it as real and as immediate as the dryness in their own skin and throats.

There is a risk in becoming overly reliant on technologies that require significant resources, including water for their operation. Using AI responsibly may seem like a small or simple step, but it can help reduce resource consumption, promote sustainable water management, and make a meaningful difference for people who struggle to access safe drinking water. AI’s advantages are clear: it can save time, effort, and reduce inconvenience. Yet these conveniences come with potential drawbacks, and the ease of the present should not come at the cost of the future or add to the struggles of others.

Like water that can nourish a garden or flood it, AI can be beautiful but can also cause harm if used recklessly or over-relied upon. It should be used thoughtfully and mindfully, not as if our lives depend on it—because it’s not and never will be. After all, humanity once lived without it, and we have the choice to use it wisely.

Article: Sophia Bordomeo

Graphics: Ramier Vincent Pedianco