GPT-3's water consumption for the training phase was estimated at roughly 4.8 billion liters of water, when assuming the model was trained on Microsoft's Iowa data center (OpeanAI has disclosed that the data center was used for training parts of the GPT-4 model). If the model were to have been fully trained in the Washington data center, water consumption could have been as high as 15 billion liters. That would've amounted to more than Microsoft's total water withdrawals in 2023.
Estimated operational water consumption for training GPT-3 as of July 2023, by data center
(in million liters)
According to the source, Microsoft did not disclose the data center in which GPT-3 was trained, so estimates were made by considering the company's different data center locations.
Estimates consider the full GPT-3 model with 175 billion parameters
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Cornell University. (October 29, 2023). Estimated operational water consumption for training GPT-3 as of July 2023, by data center (in million liters) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved December 25, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1536925/gpt-3-estimated-water-consumption-training/
Cornell University. "Estimated operational water consumption for training GPT-3 as of July 2023, by data center (in million liters)." Chart. October 29, 2023. Statista. Accessed December 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1536925/gpt-3-estimated-water-consumption-training/
Cornell University. (2023). Estimated operational water consumption for training GPT-3 as of July 2023, by data center (in million liters). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: December 25, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1536925/gpt-3-estimated-water-consumption-training/
Cornell University. "Estimated Operational Water Consumption for Training Gpt-3 as of July 2023, by Data Center (in Million Liters)." Statista, Statista Inc., 29 Oct 2023, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1536925/gpt-3-estimated-water-consumption-training/
Cornell University, Estimated operational water consumption for training GPT-3 as of July 2023, by data center (in million liters) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1536925/gpt-3-estimated-water-consumption-training/ (last visited December 25, 2024)
Estimated operational water consumption for training GPT-3 as of July 2023, by data center (in million liters) [Graph], Cornell University, October 29, 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1536925/gpt-3-estimated-water-consumption-training/
