By Nupur Apte
“It’s fine, I’ll just send it to my AI” is a phrase commonly used by many people of all ages, a majority of them ignorant of the devastating consequences of AI. Although assistants like Gemini, ChatGPT, and, for many high schoolers, Snapchat AI are relatively new, they’ve grown exponentially in both popularity and global use. Many teenagers, including myself, find themselves sucked into the whirlwind of AI, and it can often be very tempting to use it, whether it’s for homework or for making a funny video for a friend. The effects of AI are not widely known, and for people who have heard of it, they don’t see it as a major consequence. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth, as increased use of AI leads to the construction of more data centers and, therefore, more freshwater usage overall.
Confused? Direct effects of AIs on water are less widespread for now; many areas can see effects spreading slowly. In many underprivileged areas, mostly in the global south, access to clean water is becoming scarcer and scarcer, and the consumption of unclean water has led to many outbreaks of diseases like cholera and typhoid. Water scarcity also affects farmers, decimating agricultural production and annual household incomes, a dangerous path as inflation continues to rise.
Many students within the United States are not directly affected by these problems yet, which has a visible impact on our attention to this topic. However, these issues will not stay contained, and they will not go away unless more people can understand and know more about AI and its negative impact on our lives, because unfortunately, an A on your paper or a few laughs from your friends at an AI video will not matter when the world has no water.