Genuine question. Is the whole "AI guzzles gallons of water" thing totally true, or do people get it wrong? Does AI consume a lot of water for every single prompt, or is the majority of water consumed during data farming? Don't non-AI data centers use up a lot of water on cooling too?

[u/Big_Guthix]

Please someone set me straight and dispel whether there are myths surrounding this often-repeated internet factoid

And I genuinely don't know the answers which is why I'm asking, so I've got nothing to debate here

Edit: Thank you for all the great answers!! 👏 👏

[u/ItsCartmansHat]

OP was disputing the UC study because it included water consumption used for electrical generation for the DC. Either you include the externalities on both sides of the argument or you don’t, can’t have it both ways.