HomeSam Altman Reminds Humans Also Use a Lot of Energy
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently spoke at an event hosted by The Indian Express, where he addressed concerns surrounding AI’s environmental footprint.
Altman, who was in India for a major AI summit, described concerns about AI’s water consumption as “totally fake,” though he admitted it had been a real problem when data centers used evaporative cooling.
He noted that now that evaporative cooling is no longer used, misconceptions persist online. “You see things like, ‘Don’t use ChatGPT, it uses 17 gallons of water per query,’ which is completely false and has no basis in reality,” Altman added.
Altman said it’s “fair” to worry about overall energy consumption from AI, not per query, given the world’s increasing reliance on AI. He argued this underscores the need to “move quickly toward nuclear, wind, and solar energy.”
Since tech companies aren’t legally required to disclose energy and water usage, researchers have been conducting independent studies. Data centers have also been linked to higher electricity costs.
Referencing a prior discussion with Bill Gates, the interviewer asked if a single ChatGPT query really consumes the equivalent of 1.5 iPhone battery charges. Altman responded, “There’s no way it’s anything close to that much.”
Altman also criticized many discussions about ChatGPT’s energy use as “unfair,” particularly those comparing the energy cost of training an AI model to the cost of a human performing a single inference query.
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Boston, MA | June 9, 2026 | Register NowAltman continued, “But training a human also requires a lot of energy—20 years of life and all the food consumed during that time before a person becomes knowledgeable. And beyond that, it took the evolution of the 100 billion people who ever lived, learning to avoid predators and develop science and everything else, to create you.”
In his view, the fair comparison is: “If you ask ChatGPT a question, how much energy does it take, after the model is trained, to answer that question compared to a human? And by that measure, AI has likely already matched human energy efficiency.”
You can watch the full interview below. The discussion on water and energy consumption starts around the 26:35 mark.
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently spoke at an event hosted by The Indian Express, where he addressed concerns surrounding AI’s environmental footprint.
Altman, who was in India for a major AI summit, described concerns about AI’s water consumption as “totally fake,” though he admitted it had been a real problem when data centers used evaporative cooling.
He noted that now that evaporative cooling is no longer used, misconceptions persist online. “You see things like, ‘Don’t use ChatGPT, it uses 17 gallons of water per query,’ which is completely false and has no basis in reality,” Altman added.
Altman said it’s “fair” to worry about overall energy consumption from AI, not per query, given the world’s increasing reliance on AI. He argued this underscores the need to “move quickly toward nuclear, wind, and solar energy.”
Since tech companies aren’t legally required to disclose energy and water usage, researchers have been conducting independent studies. Data centers have also been linked to higher electricity costs.
Referencing a prior discussion with Bill Gates, the interviewer asked if a single ChatGPT query really consumes the equivalent of 1.5 iPhone battery charges. Altman responded, “There’s no way it’s anything close to that much.”
Altman also criticized many discussions about ChatGPT’s energy use as “unfair,” particularly those comparing the energy cost of training an AI model to the cost of a human performing a single inference query.
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1,000+ founders and investors gather at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day dedicated to growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Hear from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers at similar growth stages. Leave with actionable tactics you can apply right away.
Offer ends March 13.
Save up to $300 or 30% on TechCrunch Founder Summit
1,000+ founders and investors gather at TechCrunch Founder Summit 2026 for a full day dedicated to growth, execution, and real-world scaling. Hear from founders and investors who have shaped the industry. Connect with peers at similar growth stages. Leave with actionable tactics you can apply right away.
Offer ends March 13.
Boston, MA | June 9, 2026 | Register NowAltman continued, “But training a human also requires a lot of energy—20 years of life and all the food consumed during that time before a person becomes knowledgeable. And beyond that, it took the evolution of the 100 billion people who ever lived, learning to avoid predators and develop science and everything else, to create you.”
In his view, the fair comparison is: “If you ask ChatGPT a question, how much energy does it take, after the model is trained, to answer that question compared to a human? And by that measure, AI has likely already matched human energy efficiency.”
You can watch the full interview below. The discussion on water and energy consumption starts around the 26:35 mark.
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The U.S. National Security Agency issued a critical alert on Wednesday regarding two severe vulnerabilities in PHP, for which patches have already been released by the PHP Foundation.As a server-side scripting language, PHP powers approximately 70% o
OpenAI launches GPT-5.5 Instant as ChatGPT’s new default model
OpenAI launched GPT-5.5 Instant on Monday, replacing GPT-5.3 Instant as the default ChatGPT model. The company states that this update minimizes hallucinations in high-stakes fields like law, medicine, and finance, while preserving the fast response
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Nvidia has deployed nearly US$50 billion into AI labs purchasing its chips, securing commitments for over $500 billion in total.On August 26, CFO Colette Kress informed analysts that these labs, backed by Nvidia’s balance sheet, will account for roug
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