But one thing Microsoft-backed OpenAI needed for its technology was plenty of water, pulled from the watershed of the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers in central Iowa to cool a powerful supercomputer as it helped teach its AI systems how to mimic human writing.
As they race to capitalize on a craze for generative AI, leading tech developers including Microsoft, OpenAI and Google have acknowledged that growing demand for their AI tools carries hefty costs, from expensive semiconductors to an increase in water consumption.
But they’re often secretive about the specifics. Few people in Iowa knew about its status as a birthplace of OpenAI’s most advanced large language model, GPT-4, before a top Microsoft executive said in a speech it “was literally made next to cornfields west of Des Moines.”
I live in des moines. The water was taken out of the river, and put right back in to flow downstream. That is what typically happens in to water.
The did this in des moines because 80% or the power comes from wind making. Apple is building a large data center near my house. Google has one someplace as well. The large number of wind farms around the state make us a very attractive place for anyone who wants to use a lot of reporters energy.
MS’ reports make a distinction between how much water was withdrawn from third-party systems (often municipal sources) and how much was consumed … meaning not all the water withdrawn was returned to the source.
What happens with the remaining water?
If this was potatbpe water from municple sources, it may well include things like drinking water, toilets, etc or it could have been sent out of a sprinkler or evaporative coolers.
According to page 6 of this PDF fact sheet MS uses third party sources, meaning municipal water systems, withdrawing 10,665 megaliters and discharging 4307 megaliters.
1 megaliter = 1,000,000 liters 1,000,000 liters = 219,969.3 gallons
Yea I understood that, was just curious what happened with the water that wasn’t discharged
It was consumed, either through evaporation, sewage, drinking water, etc.
Presumably it evaporates and returns to the water cycle? I don’t know, but it’s not like growing tomatoes and exporting the water within them. That water is staying local. But that doesn’t mean it returns to where it’s needed, when it’s needed. They’re putting a strain on the local water supply (flow) not necessarily the long-term stock.
In 2022, a document from the West Des Moines Water Works said it and the city government “will only consider future data center projects” from Microsoft if those projects can “demonstrate and implement technology to significantly reduce peak water usage from the current levels” to preserve the water supply for residential and other commercial needs.
They’re not doing that for fun.
Interesting, thank you for sharing. I assume it get’s put back into the water cycle, and it would require power to turn it into drinking water again.
We’ve got to start distinguishing between using up fossil ground water or devastating these desert rivers in places that just don’t have water.
Where I live, we have enough water. Now and before. Maybe more now, but same climate change.
It’s just where I live, I don’t “use up” water unless I pollute it.
“For FY22, total water withdrawal from areas with water stress was 2,449 megaliters (ML) (23 percent) and was primarily sourced from third-party water; total water discharge to areas with water stress was 1,140 ML (26 percent); and total water consumption from areas with water stress was 1,310 ML (20 percent).” from this PDF fact sheet from MS
… note 1 ML = 1,000,000 liters or 219969.3 gallons
