Thirsty Machines is an installation by Shruthi Venkat that traces the hidden impact of Generative Artificial Intelligence and its environmental consequences. The work is broken down into three interconnected environments that reveal the reality behind our seemingly comfortable digital lives.

Starting with an inconspicuous chatbot that prompts questions about personal and planetary futures, the installation exposes how our interactions with GenAI feed into vast, resource-hungry systems. The installation moves from this simple interface to the visceral reality of a data center – a maze of pipes, wires, lights, and cooling systems. Here abstract queries are transformed into the physical consumption of resources such as water, energy, and electricity.

The journey culminates in a future city where the consequences of our current actions become manifest. Through artifacts from an imagined future, the installation suggests how today’s digital interactions may create tomorrow’s crises. Thirsty Machine attempts to make the invisible visible by shedding light on the environmental costs of our habits. The interaction encourages informed reflections by revealing the resource-intensive processes behind our simple, comfortable interactions.

Developed during a 2025 Summer Sessions residency at V2_.