Unveiling the Hidden Realities of ChatGPT Conversations
Many individuals harbor doubts about AI and ChatGPT, and it has now been revealed that there’s yet another significant reason to be cautious about our dependence on it.
Since its launch in 2022, ChatGPT has been utilized by people to assist with a wide range of tasks in their everyday lives, be it job applications, general inquiries, or clever jokes for a first date.
If you find it essential to rely on ChatGPT for information that Google or your grandmother could easily provide, the unfortunate truth is that it will retain a record of everything you have ever inquired about.
The unsettling reality of your interactions with ChatGPT
It appears that brain cells aren’t the only things diminishing each time you access ChatGPT for help with your university essay.
While you may have a desire for knowledge, ChatGPT seems to have a desire for the Earth’s water resources, with reports indicating that each time you engage in a brief conversation, you may be wasting approximately 50cl of water, and a dialogue with 10 to 50 questions could consume as much as two liters.
Water is not the only resource being wasted; Forbes reports that ChatGPT utilizes over half a million kilowatts of electricity daily, a staggering amount that could handle approximately two hundred million requests.
The price of being polite with ChatGPT?
I strongly believe in the importance of saying please and thank you to ChatGPT on the rare occasions you genuinely need to use it, as it may lead to the AI overlords showing us a bit more compassion when they eventually take over the Earth in the coming years and society collapses.
However, it turns out that even the simple addition of these polite phrases can have a significant impact, with the founder of OpenAI joking that it could cost tens of millions of dollars on X, while tech analyst Dylan Patel suggested that it could still cost over £500,000 daily.
How do the data centers utilized by ChatGPT function?
Similar to a computer that overheats when overworked, data centers require a substantial amount of water to prevent the AI server facilities from literally overheating.
This information comes from David Craig, the chief executive of Iceotope, a British firm that aids in cooling data centers.
The data centers employ water-based cooling systems, with towers dissipating heat, akin to a massive perspiration mechanism, leading to water loss. Furthermore, the water must be of drinking quality, as any contaminants could harm the servers.
How alarming is the environmental impact?
The situation is quite dire. As AI is only expected to become more integrated into our daily lives (unfortunately), the environmental repercussions will also escalate.
Electricity and drinking water that could be utilized for sheltering individuals are being diverted to support this technology, a fact to keep in mind.
According to Forbes, by 2050, two-thirds of the global population is projected to face water shortages, impacting all facets of daily life, while we are wasting significant amounts of this clean drinking water to keep these data servers operational.
Therefore, the next time you have a question, consider asking your teacher, your mother, your friend, or if all else fails, turn to Reddit. Anything but that wretched technology.