Sam Altman claims an average ChatGPT query uses ‘roughly one fifteenth of a teaspoon’ of water
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman claims that an average ChatGPT query uses approximately 0.000085 gallons of water, equivalent to roughly one fifteenth of a teaspoon.
- The energy consumption of a single ChatGPT query is estimated to be around 0.34 watt-hours, comparable to the energy used by an oven in under a second or a high-efficiency lightbulb in a couple of minutes.
- Altman predicts that “the cost of intelligence should eventually converge to near the cost of electricity,” suggesting that AI technology will become more energy-efficient over time.
- A recent forecast suggests that AI could consume more power than Bitcoin mining by the end of the year, highlighting growing concerns about the environmental impact of AI technology.
- Water usage for AI can vary depending on the location of datacenters, with some studies suggesting that a 100-word email generated by an AI chatbot can require up to one bottle of water.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in a blog post published Tuesday, says an average ChatGPT query uses about 0.000085 gallons of water, or “roughly one fifteenth of a teaspoon.” He made the claim as part of a broader post on his predictions about how AI will change the world.
“People are often curious about how much energy a ChatGPT query uses; the average query uses about 0.34 watt-hours, about what an oven would use in a little over one second, or a high-efficiency lightbulb would use in a couple of minutes,” he says. He also argues that “the cost of intelligence should eventually converge to near the cost of electricity.” OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on how Altman came to those figures.
AI companies have come under scrutiny for energy costs of their technology. This year, for example, researchers forecast that AI could consume more power than Bitcoin mining by the end of the year. In an article last year, The Washington Post worked with researchers to determine that a 100-word email “generated by an AI chatbot using GPT-4” required “a little more than 1 bottle.” The publication also found that water usage can depend on where a datacenter is located.