Vietnamese Environmental Law in Controlling the Risk of Water Resource Degradation Triggered by the Adverse Impacts of Artificial Intelligence

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) has presented both opportunities and challenges for environmental protection, particularly in water resource conservation. Alongside its positive applications—such as monitoring water quality, forecasting droughts, and optimizing water use in agriculture and industry - AI generates numerous adverse impacts that are either underestimated or insufficiently regulated under the current legal framework. The operation of AI infrastructures, especially data centers, consumes substantial volumes of water for cooling purposes, thereby intensifying pressure on both surface and groundwater sources and posing a significant risk of water resource degradation. This article focuses on analyzing the negative impacts of AI that contribute to the potential degradation of water resources, thereby assessing the responsiveness and adequacy of Vietnam’s current environmental law in addressing these challenges. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes several legal and policy recommendations to improve regulatory responses in the context of rapid technological advancement.