ChatGPT reaches a new milestone with 500 million weekly users, generating 2.5 billion daily inquiries
ChatGPT, the popular large language model developed by OpenAI, has garnered significant attention due to its rapid growth and widespread usage. However, this expansion has also raised environmental concerns, primarily related to high energy consumption and carbon emissions.
The figure of 500 million active weekly users is now considered the official count by OpenAI. These users generate more than 2.5 billion prompts daily, consuming a substantial amount of energy. Each query on ChatGPT emits about 4.32 grams of CO₂, which is considerably higher than a typical Google search. This footprint accumulates quickly, contributing to substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
Maintaining ChatGPT relies heavily on data centers consuming vast amounts of electricity. Approximately 124 GWh annually is used for inference alone, resulting in around 55,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions per year. Much of this energy still comes from carbon-intensive sources, especially during peak times or in regions with limited clean energy access.
The environmental concerns surrounding ChatGPT have attracted regulatory and public scrutiny focused on sustainability and transparency. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, addressed these concerns in a June blog post, providing specific details about the energy and water usage of each query on ChatGPT.
Environmental advocates have called for commitments to renewable energy use, energy-efficient hardware, and sustainable data center practices. They also demand industry transparency about AI’s total lifecycle emissions (training, inference, hardware production) and enforcement of environmentally responsible standards.
While some AI companies pursue 24/7 renewable energy matching and carbon-free power investments, these efforts do not yet fully offset emissions, leaving room for more stringent environmental regulations and incentives. The discussions cover ethical AI development, data privacy, misinformation risks, and economic impacts of large language models.
The concern grows as AI tools continue to expand in both consumer and enterprise settings. Most of these users are on the free tier, which may lead to increased energy consumption as more individuals and businesses adopt the technology.
The average query on ChatGPT uses about 0.000085 gallons of water, roughly one-fifteenth of a teaspoon. At scale, ChatGPT's daily water usage is roughly 212,500 gallons, equivalent to half an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
These environmental concerns have not deterred the growth of ChatGPT, which remains a popular tool for many users. However, as the technology continues to evolve, it is crucial for companies like OpenAI to address these concerns and work towards more sustainable AI development.
- The substantial energy consumption and CO₂ emissions associated with ChatGPT, accumulating to around 55,000 metric tons annually, have raised concerns about its environmental impact.
- To address these concerns, environmental advocates are calling for commitments to renewable energy use, energy-efficient hardware, and sustainable data center practices from AI companies like OpenAI, aiming for more sustainable AI development.
