OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says 38K ChatGPT queries only use amount of water it takes to grow an almond
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said 38,000 ChatGPT queries use only as much water as it takes to produce a single almond – shrugging off widespread concerns over data centers’ water usage.The billionaire tech leader was discussing rampant backlash online against AI companies during an appearance on a Tuesday episode of the new “Sources” podcast with host Alex Heath.“You know, I saw this thing going around about the water usage of ChatGPT.And it was like, every time you run a simple ChatGPT query, it’s like you run your shower for like six hours and the water never comes back and just it’s done,” Altman said. He added that the same amount of water used in the production of a single almond in California can power 38,000 ChatGPT queries, though he noted he did not have the exact calculations on-hand.“There’s a question of like where this came from because the people scarfing down 12 almonds at a time don’t feel like they’re doing something horrible from a water perspective, for the most part,” Altman continued.“It is true that data centers at one point used evaporative cooling, but they have not done that in a long time.
Like if you look at a modern, very large data center, it uses, like, the equivalent amount of water as an office building in terms of people, you know, running the sinks and the toilets and whatever.”He said complaints of data center water usage online have been a “robust meme” – but argued they don’t “[hold] up to any scrutiny.”Almonds are widely viewed as one of the most water-intensive crops to grow in the US, especially in California, a state prone to droughts.A single almond takes approximately 1 gallon of water to produce, though that’s from start to finish – including the planting and growth of the entire tree, according to the Almond Board of California. It’s similar to the amount of water needed to grow other California fruit and nut trees, like pistachios, walnuts and peaches, the nonprofit industry g...