A new study found training AI models uses a lot of water. Photo: 123rf
Government officials have yet to look at how much water the dozen or so huge data centres being built might use.
Running a straightforward query of an AI chatbot like Chat GPT of, say, 20 or so questions would use half a litre of water, according to a new US study.
Training an AI model in the first place, normally done at hyperscale data centres, would require a lot of water - two weeks training of Chat GPT would use the water equivalent to manufacturing 370 cars, the study said.
The Internal Affairs Department said it had not asked the likes of Microsoft and Amazon if they planned to train AI on the data centres they are building in New Zealand.
"This will inform discussions in the future as part of the work" it was leading on AI use within government, it said.
Cooling accounts for nearly 40 percent of the total energy consumed by data centres.
"DIA has not provided advice directly to ministers in relation to water use but has supported advice to the government, led by MBIE, on data centres," Internal Affairs said.
That Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment advice centred on power use and drew on forecasts over 18 months old.
The industry was debating water-cooled versus air-cooled data centres, with most suggesting the former use less energy.
Microsoft has said its three data centres here will be carbon neutral.