2026-02-23 15:05:52
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has defended the amount of resources required for artificial intelligence.
Fears have been expressed about the amount of energy consumed by AI but Altman suggests that this is “unfair” as it also takes a lot of energy to train human beings.
Altman said: “One of the things that is always unfair in this comparison is people talk about how much energy it takes to train an AI model … But it also takes a lot of energy to train a human.
“It takes like 20 years of life, and all the food you eat before that time, before you get smart.”
He added: “The fair comparison is if you ask ChatGPT a question, how much energy does it take once a model is trained to answer that question, versus a human, and probably AI has already caught up on an energy efficiency basis, measured that way.”
The remarks have sparked debate online due to growing concern about AI’s ability to replace human work.
Sridhar Vembu, the billionaire co-founder of Indian software company Zoho Corporation, posted on X: “I do not want to see a world where we equate a piece of technology to a human being.”
Altman also dismissed claims that ChatGPT – which he oversaw the launch of 2022 – uses gallons of water per query were “completely untrue, totally insane” and have “no connection to reality”.
Data centres often use large quantities of water to cool electrical components and prevent overheating, although some newer data centres no longer rely on water at all.
However, a report last month from water technology company Xylem and Global Water Intelligence predicted that the water drawn for cooling would more than triple over the next quarter of a century as computing demand rises.
Although he dismisses fears about water use, Altman says energy consumption is a valid AI concern because of the ever-increasing use of the technology.
He said: “Not per query, but in total – because the world is using so much AI … and we need to move towards nuclear or wind and solar very quickly.”
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