With new categories, “Barbie” and SZA — there’s a lot to discuss regarding the 2024 Grammy Award nominations

'Sister Wives' star Christine Brown revealed that her fiance David Woolley is a 'Star Wars nerd' as she shared a post showing some of their precious moments

Artificial intelligence is using gallons upon gallons of water. Microsoft alone used more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools of water in its data centres last year. The latest numbers are leading to yet more questions about the sustainability and environmental dangers of the growth of artificial intelligence and related technology. Artificial intelligence requires vast computing resources, undertaking deeply complex calculations on behalf of people around the world. AI systems tend to be run in the cloud rather than on individual people’s computers, meaning that companies running them must operate vast server farms to deal with the queries of their users. Those server farms in turn need to pump in water to cool themselves down, because of the heat generated by those computers. That has long been a concern for environmentalists, but the sharp growth in artificial intelligence has led to even more use. Microsoft’s water consumption rose 34 per cent between 2021 and 2022, according to its latest environmental report, highlighted by the Associated Press. It was up to almost 1.7 billion gallons. Not all of that is from artificial intelligence. But Shaolei Ren, a researcher at the University of California, Riverside working to better understand the environmental impact of AI told the AP that the “majority of the growth” is because of the technology. Google also said that its water use had increased by 20 per cent over the same period. That varied across its different data centres, which are based in different parts of the US. For each 5 to 50 prompts, or questions, put to ChatGPT, it uses 500 millilitres of water, according to a paper that will be published by Professor Ren and his team later this year. Many technology companies have expressed concerns about their own water use, and how to minimise any negative effects of their data centres. The environmental concerns can be especially pressing because the use of water can be focused in particular areas around a data centre, meaning that the damage may not be spread. Google said last year for instance that “Wherever we use water, we are committed to doing so responsibly”. That includes analysing where water is being used and how much stress it might put on the surrounding area, for instance. Read More AI can help generate synthetic viruses and spark pandemics, warns ex-Google executive China’s ‘government-approved’ AI chatbot says Taiwan invasion likely Google launches AI to go to meetings for you

European Union leaders believe it's time to lay the foundations for a future relationship between Israel and the Palestinians where the militant group Hamas does not control Gaza

Joe Rogan believes selecting Vice President Kamala Harris as a presidential candidate would be unfavorable, as he thinks she would not secure a win

Russia’s flagship Urals crude oil breached a price cap set by the Group of Seven, a blow to

President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign condemned Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a clash over how the history of

Bernardo Arévalo, the surprise of the first round of voting in Guatemala, says the choice in the Aug. 20 presidential runoff is a clear one: Continue living under a corrupt system with his rival or rebuild the country’s democracy with him

Taco Bell has rung up a win in its quest to make “Taco Tuesday” free of trademark restrictions

Despite never having been a professional mixed martial artist, the former 'Fear Factor' host has earned the respect of the global MMA fandom

The Israel Defense Forces targeted what they called Islamic Jihad terrorist organization operatives and infrastructure in Gaza on Wednesday, a day after Israeli military airstrikes killed three leaders of the Palestinian militant group and 10 other Palestinian men, women and children along the strip.

A storm set to brew off the southeastern US coast late this week will bring gusty winds, heavy rain and hazardous seas from Florida to New England.