Dubai, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES — A global rush for the next wave of generative artificial intelligence is increasing public scrutiny on an often-overlooked but critically important environmental issue: Big Tech’s expanding water footprint.
Tech giants, including the likes of Microsoft and Alphabet-owned Google, have recently reported a substantial upswing in their water consumption and researchers say one of the main culprits is the race to capitalize on the next wave of AI.
Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside, published a study in April investigating the resources needed to run buzzy generative AI models, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Ren and his colleagues found that ChatGPT gulps 500 milliliters of water (roughly the amount of water in a standard 16-ounce bottle) for every 10 to 50 prompts, depending on when and where the AI model is deployed.
The study’s authors warned that if the growing water footprint of AI models is not sufficiently addressed, the issue could become a major roadblock to the socially responsible and sustainable use of AI in the future.
People take part in a protest called by Uruguay’s Central Union (PIT-CNT) in “defense of water” against the handling of the national authorities with respect to the management of the shortage of drinking water reserves in Montevideo on May 31, 2023.
Eitan Abramovich | Afp | Getty Images
ChatGPT creator OpenAI, part owned by Microsoft, did not respond to a request to comment on the study’s findings.
“In general, the public is getting more knowledgeable and aware of the water issue and if they learn that the Big Tech’s are taking away their water resources and they are not getting enough water, nobody will like it,” Ren told CNBC via videoconference.
“I think we are going to see more clashes over the water usage in the coming years as well, so this type of risk will have to be taken care of by the companies,” he added.
‘A hidden cost’
Data centers are part of the lifeblood of Big Tech — and a lot of water is required to keep the power-hungry servers cool and running smoothly.
In July, protesters took to the streets of Uruguay’s capital to push back against Google’s plan to build a data center. The proposal sought to use vast quantities of water at a time when the South American country was suffering its worst drought in 74 years.
Google reportedly said at the time the project was still at an exploratory phase and stressed that sustainability remained at the heart of its mission.
With AI, we’re seeing the classic problem with technology in that you have efficiency gains but then you have rebound effects with more energy and more resources being used.
Somya Joshi
Head of division: global agendas, climate and systems at SEI
In Microsoft’s latest environmental sustainability report, the U.S. tech company disclosed that its global water consumption rose by more than a third from 2021 to 2022, climbing to nearly 1.7 billion gallons.
It means that Microsoft’s annual water use would be enough to fill more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
For Google, meanwhile, total water consumption at its data centers and offices came in at 5.6 billion gallons in 2022, a 21% increase on the year before.
Both companies are working to reduce their water footprint and become “water positive” by the end of the decade, meaning that they aim to replenish more water than they use.
It’s notable, however, that their latest water consumption figures were disclosed before the launch of their own respective ChatGPT competitors. The computing power needed to run Microsoft’s Bing Chat and Google Bard could mean significantly higher levels of water use over the coming months.
“With AI, we’re seeing the classic problem with technology in that you have efficiency gains but then you have rebound effects with more energy and more resources being used,” said Somya Joshi, head of division: global agendas, climate and systems at the Stockholm Environment Institute.
“And when it comes to water, we’re seeing an exponential rise in water use just for supplying cooling to some of the machines that are needed, like heavy computation servers, and large-language models using larger and larger amounts of data,” Joshi told CNBC during the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates.
“So, on one hand, companies are promising to their customers more efficient models … but this comes with a hidden cost when it comes to energy, carbon and water,” she added.
How are tech firms reducing their water footprint?
A spokesperson for Microsoft told CNBC that the company is investing in research to measure the energy and water use and carbon impact of AI, while working on ways to make large systems more efficient.
“AI will be a powerful tool for advancing sustainability solutions, but we need a plentiful clean energy supply globally to power this new technology, which has increased consumption demands,” a spokesperson for Microsoft told CNBC via email.
“We will continue to monitor our emissions, accelerate progress while increasing our use of clean energy to power datacenters, purchasing renewable energy, and other efforts to meet our sustainability goals of being carbon negative, water positive and zero waste by 2030,” they added.
Aerial view of the proposed site of the Meta Platforms Inc. data center outside Talavera de la Reina, Spain, on Monday, July 17, 2023. Meta is planning to build a 1 billion ($1.1 billion) data center which it expects to use about 665 million liters (176 million gallons) of water a year, and up to 195 liters per second during “peak water flow,” according to a technical report.
Paul Hanna | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Separately, a Google spokesperson told CNBC that research shows that while AI computing demand has dramatically increased, the energy needed to power this technology is rising “at a much slower rate than many forecasts have predicted.”
“We are using tested practices to reduce the carbon footprint of workloads by large margins; together these principles can reduce the energy of training a model by up to 100x and emissions by up to 1000x,” the spokesperson said.
“Google data centers are designed, built and operated to maximize efficiency – compared with five years ago, Google now delivers around 5X as much computing power with the same amount of electrical power,” they continued.
“To support the next generation of fundamental advances in AI, our latest TPU v4 [supercomputer] is proven to be one of the fastest, most efficient, and most sustainable ML [machine leanring] infrastructure hubs in the world.”
Elon Musk announced his new company xAI, which he says has the goal to understand the true nature of the universe.
Jaap Arriens | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Elon Musk‘s artificial intelligence company xAI has raised $15 billion from investors, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC’s David Faber.
The funding adds another $5 billion to the $10 billion round CNBC reported on in September that valued the startup at $200 billion. Sources told CNBC that a lot of the money will fund graphic processing units that underpin large language models.
Artificial intelligence startups have reached sky high valuations in recent months as they raise massive amounts of capital to power seemingly endless demand for foundational models.
Last last week, Tesla shareholders voted to approve Musk’s massive pay package worth nearly $1 trillion, and voted on a proposal for the company to invest in xAI.
Brandon Ehrhart, general counsel at Tesla, said there were more votes for than against, but noted the abstentions and said the company is considering next steps on the issue.
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U.S. President Donald Trump signs the funding bill to end the U.S. government shutdown, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Nov. 12, 2025.
Kevin Lamarque | Reuters
This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox.
Here are five key things investors need to know to start the trading day:
1. Opening time
President Donald Trump ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history last night, signing into law a short-term funding bill passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the evening that funds the government through January.
Here’s what to know:
While the deal does not include the extension of enhanced Obamacare tax credits that Democrats wanted, it does include a guarantee from Republicans that the Senate will vote on a health care bill of Democrats’ choosing next month.
The agreement also ensures funding for food stamps, the reversal of shutdown-related layoffs and backpay for government employees.
As he signed the legislation ending the 43-day shutdown, Trump said “people were hurt so badly” and that “we can never let this happen again.” He blamed Democrats for the closure, saying “Republicans never wanted a shutdown.”
Earlier on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said key inflation and labor data for October may never be released because of the shutdown. Without these reports, Leavitt said Federal Reserve policymakers will be “flying blind at a critical period.”
The Department of Transportation also halted the flight cuts it imposed last week as disruptions to air travel eased. The cancellations would have risen from 6% to 10% on Friday.
A shot of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.
RandomEye Photography | Twenty20
Mickey Mouse may be joining Pluto in the dog house. Disneymissed Wall Street’s revenue estimates for the fiscal fourth quarter this morning, sending shares down more than 4% in premarket trading.
While the company’s Disney+ streaming service grew, the entertainment giant was hampered by its linear TV business and its its theatrical film slate. But Disney’s quarterly earnings came in higher than analysts anticipated.
“Overall we’re leaving the year with a lot of momentum,” Disney CFO Hugh Johnston told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning, referring to the company’s streaming and experience businesses.
3. Personnel matters
U.S. President Donald Trump and Lisa Cook, governor of the U.S. Federal Reserve
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters | Al Drago | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Mark your calendar: The Supreme Court said it will hear arguments on Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Jan. 21. The court in October allowed Cook to keep her job while the case plays out.
Meanwhile, Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic announced yesterday that he will leave his position when his term expires in February. Bostic, the first Black and openly gay regional Fed president, said in a statement that he was proud of efforts “to turn the lofty goal of an economy that works for everyone into more of a reality.”
4. Inside the AFP business
Jgi/jamie Grill | Tetra Images | Getty Images
As drug costs in the U.S. skyrocket, a growing industry of businesses called alternative funding programs are promising patients more affordable options for accessing specialty medications — in many cases by obtaining the drugs overseas.
Federal authorities are raising alarm about the legality of AFPs and the potential health risks for patients. Nicole Johnson, a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security, said AFPs are fulfilling prescriptions through “unverified” suppliers and “potentially illicit” online pharmacies.
In a new investigation, CNBC traced medications traveling into the U.S. via a supply chain that’s not authorized by the drug companies that make them. The investigation shows how ubiquitous these companies — which contract with employer-sponsored health plans — are becoming.
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5. Electric slide
Samuel Boivin | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Anthropic announced yesterday that it plans to spend $50 billion to build out infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence. As CNBC’s MacKenzie Sigalos notes, the move makes the technology company a major U.S. player in physical AI infrastructure. The project will start with custom data centers in Texas and New York and is expected to create 800 permanent jobs and more than 2,000 construction positions.
But there’s growing political backlash to the AI industry’s data centers, with voters angry over rising electricity prices. Abigail Spanberger, who won last week’s governor race in Virginia, promised to make the industry pay “their fair share” of higher costs.
The Daily Dividend
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee released more than 20,000 documents obtained from sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s estate yesterday, among which were emails referencing Trump. The president has denied knowing about Epstein’s sexual abuse of underage girls and young women and has never been charged with wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would vote next week on releasing files related to Epstein.
I know how dirty donald is
Jeffrey Epstein in a 2018 email thread
— CNBC’s Dan Mangan, Jeff Cox, Emily Wilkins, Sean Conlon, Lillian Rizzo, Scott Zamost, Paige Tortorelli, Melissa Lee, MacKenzie Sigalos and Spencer Kimball contributed to this report. Josephine Rozzelle edited this edition.
With ski season approaching, Uber wants to take you to the slopes.
The ride-hailing company on Thursday announced Uber Ski, which will allow users to book a ride to and from nearly 40 mountains in the U.S., Canada, Switzerland, and France, according to a release. The services is available through March.
Uber is partnering with Vail Resorts to let riders book an Uber Reserve directly to the mountain resort company’s various destinations. Users can buy an Epic Pass, which grants access to over 90 ski and snowboarding resorts, directly on the app.
Riders can reserve an UberXL or UberXXL up to 90 days in advance, with the larger vehicles offering more trunk space to fit extra gear.
Uber Ski landing page.
Courtesy: Uber
The launch is a part of a series of updates Uber is offering ahead of the holiday season.
Pradeep Parameswaran, Uber’s global head of mobility, said that new features will help “people spend less time stressing about logistics and more time enjoying the moments that matter” during the festive months.
The company is also rolling out Uber Share at three airports as flight delays and cancellations continue to pile up across the country from the government shutdown. President Donald Trump late Wednesday signed into law a funding bill to end the longest shutdown of the federal in U.S. history.
At John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Orlando International Airport, riders can use Uber Share to save up to 25% by pairing up with another traveler headed in the same direction.
Additionally, Uber released a new “Send a Ride” in-app feature that lets users cover the expense of someone else’s ride by sending a voucher link that will be automatically applied to the person’s next trip. The company already has a gifting option for its Uber Eats platform.
When using the “Send a Gift” feature, customers will be able to include a video that could be personalized or picked from a selection of celebrities, including Megan Thee Stallion, the Jonas Brothers, and Tracee Ellis Ross.