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After ChatGPT launched in November 2022, the tech world hailed it as a symbol of a new era of technological advancement. However, the water consumption of these ambitious AI models was not as apparent at first. In April 2023, a research paper from the University of California estimated that training the language model behind ChatGPT's initial release required 185,000 gallons of water.

Every extended chat or request for an email from the bot equated to wasting a bottle of water. This revelation quickly made headlines and served as an early warning of the impending issue as companies touted chatbots as the solution to various problems, including mental health support and even personal relationships.

Google and OpenAI soon released their own figures, claiming that using one of their chatbots consumed just a few drops of water. Still, independent researchers disputed this perspective, stating that these companies underestimated the true water requirements for powering and cooling the ever-expanding data centers. These demands could be substantial, with a hyperscale data center consuming between 1 and 5 million gallons of water daily, equivalent to the consumption of a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people.

Moreover, as data centers grow, so do their water needs. It is not just the water required for cooling as the centers expand but also the GPUs powering generative AI, which are far more resource-intensive than traditional server components. GPUs require more energy and water to maintain their cool temperatures. Additionally, data centers rely on clean water to prevent equipment damage, leading to competition between data centers and local communities for potable water supplies.

Chile emerged as a case study for this issue. In 2019, mass protests erupted nationwide, with one of the movement's slogans addressing water scarcity. Google was planning a $200 million data center project in Cerrillos, on the outskirts of Santiago, amidst this backdrop. The company argued that the facility would bring jobs and prosperity to the region.

However, Google's data center in Cerrillos would require 169 liters of water per second, equal to the annual drinking water used by the city's 80,000 residents. To make matters worse, the project aimed to draw water from an aquifer with a restricted extraction limit since 2005.

Residents in Cerrillos were not passive. A group called MOSACAT, which stands for Community Socio-Environmental Movement for Water and Land, began investigating the project's potential impact on their water supply. The data center's water usage estimates triggered alarm among the locals, who were already experiencing severe water scarcity due to a drought that began in 2010 and persisted until 2021.

Nearly half the country's 19 million residents faced water scarcity, prompting many rural communities to rely on tankers for drinking water.

The community members went to great lengths to fight Google's plans. After months of meetings and advocacy, they proposed a referendum to the Cerrillos residents in December 2019. The residents voted against the project, with 49% opposing it, and 38% in favor. Google returned to Santiago in 2022 with a revised proposal, cooling the data center using air conditioning instead of water.

Meanwhile, in Quilicura, opposition grew as Microsoft announced its intention to build a data center in the area, coinciding with strict water-rationing rules implemented in Santiago.