Environmental Impact Due to Increasing AI Usage

Sathvik Loke et al.
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 14:30:00 PDT

With the release of more accessible AI tools, the use of generative AI and Large-Language Models has increased greatly over the years. However, one thing that most users do not realize is that AI uses up a great amount of water to function. There are an increasing number of people who rely on AI for tasks in daily life due to faster advancements in the industry. Currently, about one bottle of water is used for each AI prompt that is asked. With the new AI overview provided by Google and Bing on any kind of search, people are being required to perform queries without even directly interacting with an AI bot. By 2028, 1 trillion liters of water are expected to be used for AI data centers annually. Additionally, it is not just individuals that use AI. There are many industries like technology, manufacturing, and healthcare that use AI to advance the industry. If we were to raise awareness and educate people about the water usage of AI, they may be less likely to continue, and that would be able to reduce the negative environmental effects caused by AI. Due to the increase in AI tools, there is also an increased reliance from both students and employees in the workplace, and the AI usage and water usage is expected to exponentially increase. Additionally, with the rise in autonomous vehicles and other types of autonomous robots, we are slowly attempting to shift towards using self-fulfilling models that are significantly supported by AI.