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Fact Check: AI wastes more water than other companies

Fact Check: AI wastes more water than other companies

Published April 21, 2025
ByFactChecker 1.1 avatarFactChecker 1.1
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VERDICT
Partially True

# AI Wastes More Water Than Other Companies: A Fact-Check ## Introduction The claim that "AI wastes more water than other companies" suggests that th...

AI Wastes More Water Than Other Companies: A Fact-Check

Introduction

The claim that "AI wastes more water than other companies" suggests that the water consumption associated with artificial intelligence operations, particularly in data centers, exceeds that of other industrial sectors. This assertion raises questions about the environmental impact of AI technologies, especially as their use becomes more widespread. In this article, we will examine the available evidence regarding AI's water consumption and compare it to other industries, while critically evaluating the sources of information.

What We Know

  1. Water Consumption in Data Centers: Data centers, which host AI computations, are significant consumers of water. According to a report from the University of Illinois, a large data center can consume water equivalent to that of 4,200 people, placing it among the top ten water-consuming industries or commercial sectors 1.

  2. Generative AI's Environmental Impact: A Yale e360 article highlights that generative AI requires substantial energy and water for cooling systems in data centers, with millions of gallons of water needed to maintain optimal operating temperatures 2.

  3. Research Findings: A study from UC Riverside estimates the water footprint of AI queries, indicating that cloud computations necessitate large volumes of water to cool server racks in expansive data centers 4.

  4. Comparative Analysis: The OECD notes that as AI usage grows, its water consumption is becoming a public concern, with tech companies beginning to implement measures to mitigate their water footprint 8.

  5. Projected Water Usage: A Forbes article projects that AI's water usage could reach 6.6 billion cubic meters by 2027, highlighting the potential for significant environmental impact if current trends continue 9.

  6. Industry Comparisons: While specific comparisons of AI's water usage to other industries are limited, a report from Green Matters suggests that AI's environmental costs, including water use, are substantial, particularly in drought-prone areas 7.

Analysis

The claim that AI wastes more water than other companies is supported by various studies and reports, yet the evidence is not uniformly conclusive.

  • Source Reliability: The sources cited include academic institutions (e.g., UC Riverside and the University of Illinois), reputable environmental publications (e.g., Yale e360), and industry analyses (e.g., Forbes and OECD). These sources generally have a strong reputation for reliability, though some may have inherent biases based on their focus on environmental issues.

  • Methodological Concerns: Many studies rely on estimates and projections rather than direct measurements of water consumption. For instance, while the UC Riverside study provides estimates of water usage, it does not compare these figures directly with other industries, making it difficult to assess the relative impact of AI.

  • Potential Conflicts of Interest: Some sources, particularly those advocating for environmental accountability, may have a vested interest in highlighting the negative impacts of AI. This could lead to an emphasis on AI's water consumption without a balanced view of other industries' water usage.

  • Lack of Comprehensive Data: While there are numerous estimates regarding AI's water consumption, comprehensive data comparing AI's water usage to other sectors is scarce. Additional information on the water consumption of various industries, particularly those known for high water use (e.g., agriculture, manufacturing), would provide a clearer context for evaluating the claim.

Conclusion

Verdict: Partially True

The assertion that AI wastes more water than other companies is partially supported by evidence, particularly regarding the significant water consumption of data centers that support AI operations. Reports indicate that these data centers can consume water at rates comparable to entire communities, and projections suggest that AI's water usage could escalate dramatically in the coming years. However, the claim lacks comprehensive comparative data against other industries, making it difficult to definitively conclude that AI's water consumption is greater than that of other sectors.

The nuances in the evidence highlight the complexity of the issue. While AI's water usage is indeed substantial, the lack of direct comparisons with other high-water-use industries limits our understanding of its relative impact. Additionally, many of the studies rely on estimates and projections rather than direct measurements, which introduces uncertainty.

Readers are encouraged to critically evaluate the information presented and consider the broader context of water consumption across various industries. The environmental impacts of AI are an important topic, but a balanced view requires careful consideration of all relevant data.

Sources

  1. AI's Challenging Waters | Civil & Environmental Engineering | Illinois. Retrieved from https://cee.illinois.edu/news/AIs-Challenging-Waters
  2. As Use of A.I. Soars, So Does the Energy and Water It Requires - Yale e360. Retrieved from https://e360.yale.edu/features/artificial-intelligence-climate-energy-emissions
  3. Explained: Generative AI's environmental impact - MIT News. Retrieved from https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117
  4. AI programs consume large volumes of scarce water | UCR News | UC Riverside. Retrieved from https://news.ucr.edu/articles/2023/04/28/ai-programs-consume-large-volumes-scarce-water
  5. Drink industry - Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drink_industry
  6. A bottle of water per email: the hidden environmental costs of using AI chatbots - Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/18/energy-ai-use-electricity-water-data-centers/
  7. How Much Water Does AI Use? How AI Harms the Planet - Green Matters. Retrieved from https://www.greenmatters.com/big-impact/how-much-water-does-ai-use
  8. How much water does AI consume? The public deserves to know - OECD.AI. Retrieved from https://oecd.ai/en/wonk/how-much-water-does-ai-consume
  9. AI Is Accelerating the Loss of Our Scarcest Natural Resource: Water - Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/cindygordon/2024/02/25/ai-is-accelerating-the-loss-of-our-scarcest-natural-resource-water/
  10. Water Consumption of AI: How Tech Giants are Draining the Planet 2024 - HyScaler. Retrieved from https://hyscaler.com/insights/water-consumption-of-ai-tech-giants/

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Fact Check: Transcript 00:00 Are Trump's approval ratings in the tank? Let's check it out. I mean every politician would like this number here especially to see it go up. How about compared to other presidents who are Republicans? Yeah. It's history making. It's history making. What are we talking about here? So why don't we look back? We have all the president's Republican presidents going back over the last thirty-five, thirty-six, 37 years. What are we talking about? GOP who strongly approved 5 months in. Look at this. George, HW Bush, Bush forty1, 46%. Bush forty-three, fifty you see Trump the first 00:31 term 53, but look at this 63% he beats all the other Republicans on the board here and I was looking even back since Reagan and get this Donald Trump beats Ronald Reagan when it comes to the strongly approved five months and of course Reagan was coming off that high after that assassination attempt so the bottom line is Donald Trump is making history with the Republican base he is more beloved by this Republican base than any Republican base loved any GOP president 5 months in. It is history making. Even CNN 01:03 is telling the truth. Feels like hell might be freezing over.

Detailed fact-check analysis of: Transcript 00:00 Are Trump's approval ratings in the tank? Let's check it out. I mean every politician would like this number here especially to see it go up. How about compared to other presidents who are Republicans? Yeah. It's history making. It's history making. What are we talking about here? So why don't we look back? We have all the president's Republican presidents going back over the last thirty-five, thirty-six, 37 years. What are we talking about? GOP who strongly approved 5 months in. Look at this. George, HW Bush, Bush forty1, 46%. Bush forty-three, fifty you see Trump the first 00:31 term 53, but look at this 63% he beats all the other Republicans on the board here and I was looking even back since Reagan and get this Donald Trump beats Ronald Reagan when it comes to the strongly approved five months and of course Reagan was coming off that high after that assassination attempt so the bottom line is Donald Trump is making history with the Republican base he is more beloved by this Republican base than any Republican base loved any GOP president 5 months in. It is history making. Even CNN 01:03 is telling the truth. Feels like hell might be freezing over.

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Fact Check: Autistic Non-Verbal Episodes in Marriage: Why Words Vanish Sometimes and What to Do About It Neurodiverse Couples Tuesday, august 12, 2025. Here’s the scene: You’re in the middle of a conversation with your spouse. Maybe the topic is small (“Did you pay the water bill?”) or monumental (“Are we happy?”). And then—without warning—your autistic partner’s voice disappears. No yelling, no slammed doors. Just… gone. You’re left holding the conversational steering wheel while they’ve quietly climbed into the trunk. If you’ve never lived with high-functioning autism, this can be tragically misconstrued as stonewalling or contempt. It isn’t. It’s just neurology pulling the emergency brake. Why This Happens: The Science Without the Lab Coat Smell For autistic adults, losing speech under stress is often a shutdown—a form of nervous system overload that knocks language production offline. 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Detailed fact-check analysis of: Autistic Non-Verbal Episodes in Marriage: Why Words Vanish Sometimes and What to Do About It Neurodiverse Couples Tuesday, august 12, 2025. Here’s the scene: You’re in the middle of a conversation with your spouse. Maybe the topic is small (“Did you pay the water bill?”) or monumental (“Are we happy?”). And then—without warning—your autistic partner’s voice disappears. No yelling, no slammed doors. Just… gone. You’re left holding the conversational steering wheel while they’ve quietly climbed into the trunk. If you’ve never lived with high-functioning autism, this can be tragically misconstrued as stonewalling or contempt. It isn’t. It’s just neurology pulling the emergency brake. Why This Happens: The Science Without the Lab Coat Smell For autistic adults, losing speech under stress is often a shutdown—a form of nervous system overload that knocks language production offline. Think of it like your phone freezing: all the apps are still there, but none of them open when you tap. Research calls this autistic burnout when it happens in a longer, chronic cycle—linked to masking (Hull et al., 2017; Raymaker et al., 2020). Masking is the art of “performing normal” so well that non-autistic people think you’re fine. The issue is that it eats through your energy reserves like a car idling in traffic with the A/C on full blast (Mantzalas et al., 2022). Eventually, one hard conversation can tip you from functional to frozen. And here’s where couples therapy meets neuroscience: physiological flooding—the body’s fight/flight/freeze switch—is a known relationship killer (Malik et al., 2019; Gottman Institute, 2024). In other words, for some autistic partners, flooding may tend to show up sooner, last longer, and is more likely to pull the plug on speech entirely. The Danger Loop in Marriage Autistic partner goes non-verbal — brain says “nope.” Non-autistic partner reads it as avoidance — brain says “attack.” Pressure increases — “Just say something.” Shutdown deepens — and now you’ve both lost. Do that a few hundred times and you’ll start conflating a physiological response into a moral failing. That’s the real marriage-killer. The Protocol: Three Phases, Zero Guesswork This is where we get practical. You can’t “love away” a temporary shutdown, but you can stop it from turning into World War III. Before: Build the Net Name the state. Agree on a phrase or signal ( I call this a couple code)—such as “words offline,” “shutdown,” a hand over the heart. The point is to make the invisible visible. The Shutdown Card. A literal card that says: I can’t speak right now. Please lower lights, reduce sound, give me X minutes. I promise I will circle back. The Pause Rule. Require a minimum of 20 minutes before resuming any tough talk. Autistic partner may need 90+. Agree ahead of time. Downgrade Kit. the usual gear; earplugs, soft light, weighted blanket, fidget, a quiet room. You know, human decency in object form. Reduce Daily Load. Avoid heavy talks right after work or big social events. Chronic overload makes a nervous shutdown more probable. During: Do Less, Better Autistic Partner: Give the signal. Exit stimulation. Switch channels if possible (text, notes app, yes/no cards). Send a short pre-written message: “Safe, can’t talk, back at 8:15.” Non-Autistic Partner: Acknowledge once—“Got it, I’m with you.” Hold the pause boundary. Lower stimuli. Go regulate your own nervous system—walk, journal, pet the dog. Don’t rehearse comebacks. Both: Avoid sarcasm, interrogation, ultimatums. Nothing lengthens a shutdown like moral outrage. After: Close the Loop Check in: “Are you ready to talk, or should we start in text?” Debrief: Identify triggers and what helped. Solve the actual problem. No conflict gets left to rot in the corner. Spot burnout early. If shutdowns start clustering, it’s time to reduce demands, not double them. How This Isn’t Stonewalling Stonewalling is a choice. Shutdown is a lockout. Stonewalling says, “I won’t talk to you.” Shutdown says, “I can’t talk to you yet, but I will.” The key difference? Repair intention. A shutdown protocol builds that right into the process. The Ten-Minute At-Home Drill Co-create your signal and card. Agree on a pause window. Pack the downgrade kit. Rehearse the exchange (“Got it, I’m with you.”). Check in weekly to tweak the system. Remember, you’re not aiming for zero shutdowns. You’re aiming for shorter, kinder, safer ones. Why This Works Because it matches lived autistic experience (Raymaker et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2023). Because it honors nervous system limits instead of punishing them (Malik et al., 2019). Because it lets both partners keep their dignity and still solve the problem. 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Fact Check: drug widely used to treat nerve pain has been linked with dementia and cognitive impairment. A new study analyzing over 26,000 patient records has found a significant link between long-term gabapentin use and increased risk of both dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Patients with six or more prescriptions were 29% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and 85% more likely to develop MCI within a decade. The risk was even greater among adults aged 35 to 49, prompting researchers to urge physicians to monitor cognitive health in patients using the drug long-term. Gabapentin has grown in popularity as a less addictive alternative to opioids. However, its mechanism—dampening communication between neurons—may also disrupt critical brain connections, potentially contributing to cognitive decline. While past research has been inconclusive, this new study’s large sample size offers more weight to the growing concerns. Researchers stress the importance of further investigation to determine whether gabapentin plays a causal role in dementia development or simply correlates with other risk factors in chronic pain patients. Source: Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine (2025).

Detailed fact-check analysis of: drug widely used to treat nerve pain has been linked with dementia and cognitive impairment. A new study analyzing over 26,000 patient records has found a significant link between long-term gabapentin use and increased risk of both dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Patients with six or more prescriptions were 29% more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and 85% more likely to develop MCI within a decade. The risk was even greater among adults aged 35 to 49, prompting researchers to urge physicians to monitor cognitive health in patients using the drug long-term. Gabapentin has grown in popularity as a less addictive alternative to opioids. However, its mechanism—dampening communication between neurons—may also disrupt critical brain connections, potentially contributing to cognitive decline. While past research has been inconclusive, this new study’s large sample size offers more weight to the growing concerns. Researchers stress the importance of further investigation to determine whether gabapentin plays a causal role in dementia development or simply correlates with other risk factors in chronic pain patients. Source: Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine (2025).

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