As drought strains water supplies across much of the United States, Virginia Tech researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to help policymakers manage growing competition between agriculture and semiconductor manufacturing.
As drought strains water supplies across much of the United States, Virginia Tech researchers have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) model designed to help policymakers manage growing competition between agriculture and semiconductor manufacturing.
Feras Batarseh, associate professor in the Department of Biological Systems Engineering and the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative and the project’s lead researcher, said the recent explosion of AI queries via language learning models and the increased need for chip production is increasing pressure on already-strained water systems in many parts of the country.
To build the model, members of the A3 lab team, Ph.D. student Lauren Pincus and Dan Sobien, research associate, analyzed semiconductor facilities, irrigation patterns, and water stress indicators across all 50 states. The project is one of the first national‑scale studies to examine where agriculture and semiconductor manufacturing compete most directly for water resources.
Read more at: Virginia Tech
Dan Sobien (at left), Feras Batarseh (at right), and graduate students tour a water facility. (Photo Credit: Noah Frank, Virginia Tech)
