Artificial intelligence is reshaping the economy at the speed of a bullet train. But the infrastructure needed to power the technology, from energy-hungry data centers to water-intensive semiconductor plants, is placing increased strain on already limited natural resources, shared Arizona State University professor Rhett Larson at a recent University of Houston Law Center event.

When the text came in from a colleague, Amber Wutich wasn’t expecting the news. 

“Anne Stone was the first to text me,” said Wutich, a Regents and President’s Professor in Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change. “I’m embarrassed to tell you my response to her involved at least 11 emojis.”

But the excitement is understandable. 

Being elected to the National Academy of Sciences is one of the highest honors a researcher can receive. It recognizes exceptional scholarly achievement and distinguished contributions to their field.

Among the newly elected members are ASU’s Robert E. Page Jr. and Amber Wutich, both widely recognized for influential, cross-disciplinary research that has shaped their fields.

Wutich is a Regents Professor, President’s Professor, director of the Center for Global Health in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at ASU and a MacArthur Fellow.

Her research focuses on water insecurity, global health and human adaptation to environmental stress. 

"People should not be worried that their taps are going to run dry. But a lot of the solutions to the Colorado River shortage are going to entail higher costs," Kathryn Sorensen, a researcher at Arizona State University said.

“No, people should not be worried that their taps are going to run dry. But a lot of the solutions to the Colorado River shortage are going to entail higher costs,” said Kathryn Sorensen, director of research at the Kyle Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University.

Sorensen said customers will have to keep the cash flowing to keep water flowing.

“If you want to have reliable tap water services over time, you have to pay the piper. And with Colorado River shortages here, that time has come,” she said.

"It’s something that I’ve been advocating for years that there are ways that cities and water utilities can help each other in a way that doesn’t take advantage of their customers, doesn’t take advantage of their portfolios or their assets but is really beneficial," Cynthia Campbell of the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative said. 

Kathryn Sorensen, a senior researcher at Arizona State University's Kyl Center for Water Policy, said the Rio Verde Foothills crisis couldn't happen within the bounds of other Arizona cities that have made careful plans to keep water flowing for years into the future.

"If one small part of the Valley of the Sun experiences problems," said Sorensen, who is also former director of Phoenix's water department, "everyone is going to get stuck with that same label. That could be bad news for our economy. So I think that there is a very sound reason for all of us to hold hands and help each other weather this storm."

In times of drought, like this, higher priority users get their water allotment first and users down the list get less. The river doesn't get to keep much water.

"Every river in Arizona is overallocated," said Rhett Larson, a professor of water law and senior research fellow with the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University

According to Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University, data centers are one piece of a much larger water landscape.

“In spite of the region’s significant urban growth and industrial development over the last few decades, agriculture still uses more water than any other sector,” Porter said, referencing a recent Kyl Center report examining large water users in central Arizona.