🖥️ AI usage has less environmental impact than claimed

• Personal use of AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude has a small environmental impact compared to other daily activities.
• A ChatGPT query uses only 3 watt-hours of energy, equivalent to watching TV for 3 minutes or uploading 30 pictures to social media.
• Water consumption for AI is low—data centers use only 500 ml of water per 300 queries, while producing a single hamburger requires over 600 gallons of water.

The real environmental impact of AI usage

When AI and the environment are discussed, misleading claims often arise. Data shows that personal use of AI language models like ChatGPT has a small environmental impact compared to ordinary daily activities.

A ChatGPT query uses about 3 watt-hours of energy, which is 10 times more than a Google search. But that equates to watching TV for 3 minutes, uploading 30 pictures to social media, or driving a car 4.5 meters.

Putting the numbers in context

ChatGPT is used by over 300 million users daily and processes one billion messages per day. Despite this massive use, ChatGPT’s total energy consumption is equivalent to only 20,000 U.S. households—about the size of Barnstable, Massachusetts. To put this into perspective:

• Google Maps uses energy corresponding to 11,000 households
• Fortnite uses energy corresponding to 23,000 households
• Zoom uses energy corresponding to 150,000 households
• Spotify uses energy corresponding to 200,000 households
• Netflix uses energy corresponding to 800,000 households
• YouTube uses energy corresponding to 1 million households

Water usage in context

AI computers use water for cooling, but the amount is much lower than often claimed. While one commonly cited figure says that 20–50 ChatGPT queries use 500 ml of water, closer analysis shows that data centers actually use 500 ml of water per 300 queries—only 15 percent of the total water use. The remaining 85 percent is used for electricity production or comes from the original model training. This can be compared with other internet activities:

• Sending an email: 10 ml of water
• Posting a photo on social media: 10 ml of water
• An online bank transaction: 20 ml of water
• A ChatGPT query: 30 ml of water
• Downloading an app: 40 ml of water
• One hour of streamed music: 250 ml of water
• One hour of GPS navigation: 260 ml of water
• One hour on social media: 430 ml of water
• One hour of video meeting: 1,720 ml of water

A single hamburger requires over 600 gallons of water to produce.

Personal AI use is not a climate culprit

Data shows that focusing on personal AI use as a major environmental offender is misguided. The energy needed to ask ChatGPT a question corresponds to USD 0.00043 in electricity costs. An average household uses 350,000 times more energy each month.

If every Google search worldwide were replaced by a ChatGPT query, it would only increase the global energy needs of the internet by 1 percent—comparable to the annual increase of 3.4 percent in the number of internet users.

WALL-Y
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