Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has shed light on the environmental footprint of using ChatGPT, revealing that a single query consumes approximately 0.34 watt-hours of electricity and 0.000085 gallons of water.
In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman addressed growing concerns about the ecological impact of artificial intelligence tools. He offered perspective on the relatively modest resource usage of ChatGPT, comparing it to everyday household energy consumption.
“The average query uses about 0.34 watt-hours, about what an oven would use in a little over one second, or what a high-efficiency lightbulb would consume in a couple of minutes,” Altman explained. “It also uses about 0.000085 gallons of water, roughly one-fifteenth of a teaspoon.”
He noted that while these figures are small, they serve as a reminder of the physical infrastructure behind digital intelligence. However, as data centres become more efficient and automation improves, he expects the cost of delivering AI capabilities to fall significantly.
“The cost of intelligence should eventually converge to near the cost of electricity,” Altman stated.
Beyond energy use, the OpenAI chief also reflected on the broader social implications of rapid AI development. He acknowledged that while new technologies may disrupt existing job categories, they also hold the potential to drive unprecedented economic growth and open up space for bold, previously unthinkable policy ideas.
“There will be very hard parts, like whole classes of jobs going away,” he said. “But on the other hand, the world will be getting so much richer so quickly that we’ll be able to seriously entertain new policy ideas we never could before.”
Altman suggested that although societies may resist immediate structural changes, the long-term impact of AI integration will be transformative.
Importantly, he emphasized a fundamental human trait that distinguishes people from machines: the capacity to care.
“People have a long-term important and curious advantage over AI: we are hard-wired to care about other people and what they think and do, and we don’t care very much about machines.”
He concluded with an optimistic outlook, suggesting that as AI capabilities evolve, so too will human aspirations.
“Expectations will go up, but capabilities will go up equally quickly, and we’ll all get better stuff. We will build ever-more-wonderful things for each other.”
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