Artificial Intelligence: A Great Solution or A Severe Problem for A Thirsty World?

Authors

  • Maria Giovanna Buonomenna Ordine Regionale Dei Chimici E Fisici Della Campania (OCF), Ministero dell’Istruzione e del Merito (MIM), Via A. Tari, 22, 80138 Napoli, Campania, Italy Author
  • Aliaksei Patonia Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (OIES), 57 Woodstock Road, Oxford Ox2 6hf, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55578/isgm.2606.009

Abstract

Perspective-type manuscript, no abstract required

References

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[3] Ma, X., Weng, S., Zhao, X., Li, J., & Haider, S. (2024). Investigating the impact of artificial intelligence development on water pollution in China. Gondwana Research, 132, 182–192.

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[8] United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. (n.d.). Tajikistan manages water with AI innovation. https://unsdg.un.org/latest/stories/tajikistan-manages-water-ai-innovation

[9] Aczel, M., Chamanara, S., Matin, M., Farsi, A., Marwala, T., & Madani, K. (2026). Environmental cost of AI's energy use: Carbon, water and land footprints. United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. https://doi.org/10.53328/INR26RMA002

[10] Al Kez, D., Foley, A. M., Hasan Wong, F. W. B. M., Dolfi, A., & Srinivasan, G. (2025). AI-driven cooling technologies for high-performance data centres: State-of-the-art review and future directions. Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, 82, Article 104511.

[11] Qin, Y., Wang, Y., Li, S., Deng, H., Wanders, N., Bosmans, J., Huang, L., Hong, C., Byers, E., Gingerich, D., Bielicki, J. M., & He, G. (2023). Global assessment of the carbon–water tradeoff of dry cooling for thermal power generation. Nature Water, 1, 682–693. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00120-6

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[14] Barringer, F. (2025). Thirsty for power and water. AI crunching data centers sprout across the West. Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University. https://andthewest.stanford.edu/2025/thirsty-for-power-and-water-ai-crunching-data-centers-sprout-across-the-west/

[15] Abdelmohsen, K., et al. (2025). Declining freshwater availability in the Colorado River basin threatens sustainability of its critical groundwater supplies. Geophysical Research Letters, 52, Article e2025GL115593. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115593

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[17] Sanders, M. (2026, March 20). World water day and the hidden water footprint of AI. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/monicasanders/2026/03/20/world-water-day-and-the-hidden-water-footprint-of-ai/

[18] Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. (2024). 2024 LBNL data center energy usage report. https://eta.lbl.gov/publications/2024-lbnl-data-center-energy-usage-report

[19] Xiao, T., Nerini, F. F., Matthews, H. D., Tavoni, M., & You, F. (2025). Environmental impact and net-zero pathways for sustainable artificial intelligence servers in the USA. Nature Sustainability, 8, 1541–1553. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-025-01681-y

[20] Díaz-Marín, C. D., & Berquist, Z. J. (2025). Flipping the switch: Carbon-negative and water-positive data centers through waste heat utilization. Energy & Environmental Science, 18, 8403. https://doi.org/10.1039/d5ee02676h

[21] The Economist. (2026, May 21). Elon Musk is going all-in on an unproven technology. https://www.economist.com/briefing/2026/05/21/elon-musk-is-going-all-in-on-an-unproven-technology

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Published

2026-06-23

Data Availability Statement

No new data were generated or analyzed in this study.

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Section

Articles

How to Cite

Artificial Intelligence: A Great Solution or A Severe Problem for A Thirsty World?. (2026). Interdisciplinary Systems for Global Management, 2(2), 150-156. https://doi.org/10.55578/isgm.2606.009