Intro - The Long Version

Since ChatGPT's launch in November 2022, the adoption of generative AI tools has skyrocketed, transforming how we interact with technology. While some may find the rapid rise of AI tools unsurprising, most people remain unaware of the profound and often hidden impacts associated with designing, building, and using generative AI systems.

The supply chain behind these tools extends far beyond code: it begins with mining minerals for AI chips, continues with constructing and operating energy-intensive data centers, and culminates in billions of daily AI interactions powered by these facilities. This process consumes significant resources, altering landscapes, exploiting labor, and drawing heavily on electricity and freshwater supplies to function. According to research by Li et al. (2023), training a single large AI model can require hundreds of thousands of liters of water, further emphasizing the environmental cost.

What if water was a currency needed for using Generative AI?

Imagining a future where such a scenario becomes reality can provoke important questions and help us prepare for emerging challenges. According to the United Nations, billions of people may lack access to safely managed water services by 2030 unless we take urgent action to address water scarcity.

Through my research, I uncovered that the invisible nature of resource usage in generative AI makes it difficult for users to grasp the real-world consequences of their actions. While some companies are beginning to disclose energy and resource impacts, the lack of widespread transparency leaves users with little opportunity to reflect on their choices or decide whether they should use such tools at all.

Making the invisible visible
To address this, I explored how UX design can surface hidden impacts and make them impossible to ignore. Using ChatGPT as a design probe, I integrated transparency directly into the user experience, experimenting with how to shift users from unconscious consumption to active awareness.

One provocative idea involved making the cost of AI tangible—requiring a physical resource, like water, to activate a digital tool. This exploration raised critical questions:

How might users behave if their actions carried visible, immediate consequences?

Could making resource consumption explicit change how people interact with generative AI?

This project underscored the importance of designing for awareness and accountability in AI systems, offering new perspectives on how we might reshape the future of technology in a resource-constrained world.