Google recently released a research paper on the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, pointing out that current measurement methods are too narrow and proposing a "full-stack" approach to assess the resource consumption of its AI model Gemini.
This study claims that Gemini consumes only 0.26 milliliters of water, equivalent to five drops, while consuming 0.24Wh of energy and generating 0.03 grams of carbon dioxide equivalent when processing text prompts. Google stated that its total emissions have been reduced by 44 times during the period from May 2024 to May 2025.
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However, this data has raised doubts among many experts. Assistant Professor Ren Shaolei from the University of California, Riverside, expressed dissatisfaction with Google's research, believing that it concealed key information. Ren Shaolei is a co-author of the book "Making AI Less 'Thirsty': Uncovering and Solving the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models." In the book, he pointed out that Microsoft consumed about 700,000 liters of clean fresh water while training GPT-3 in its U.S. data centers. Additionally, Ren Shaolei mentioned that a ChatGPT conversation involving 20 to 50 questions might consume a 500-milliliter bottle of water.
Furthermore, experts pointed out that Google's research only accounted for cooling water within data centers, but ignored the water consumed by power plants that supply electricity to these data centers. Expert Alex de Vries-Gao said that this calculation method makes the estimate of five drops of water seem trivial, and in fact, it may be just "the tip of the iceberg." At the same time, Google's "market-based" carbon emission measurement standard has also faced criticism. This method allows companies to deduct purchased renewable energy credits, making their carbon footprint appear smaller, whereas a "location-based" standard would more accurately reflect their impact on the local environment.
In a related blog post, Google stated its desire to increase transparency regarding energy and water consumption. However, this paper has not yet undergone peer review, and Google has also refused to answer specific questions from the media.
Key Points:
🌊 Google claims that Gemini consumes only 0.26 milliliters of water per text prompt, but experts are skeptical about this claim.
🔍 Experts believe that Google's data calculation ignores indirect water usage, and the actual situation may be more complex.
📉 Google's carbon emission calculation method has been criticized, and there is a call for using a more transparent "location-based" standard.
