OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed issues about AI’s environmental influence this week whereas talking at an occasion hosted by The Indian Categorical.
For one factor, Altman — who was in India for a serious AI summit — stated issues about AI’s water utilization are “completely faux,” although he acknowledged it was an actual challenge when “we used to do evaporative cooling in knowledge facilities.”
“Now that we don’t do this, you see these items on the web the place, ‘Don’t use ChatGPT, it’s 17 gallons of water for every question’ or no matter,” Altman stated. “That is fully unfaithful, completely insane, no connection to actuality.”
He added that it’s “truthful” to be involved about “the vitality consumption — not per question, however in whole, as a result of the world is now utilizing a lot AI.” In his view, this implies the world must “transfer in direction of nuclear or wind and photo voltaic in a short time.”
There’s no authorized requirement for tech firms to reveal how a lot vitality and water they use, so scientists have been making an attempt to review it independently. Knowledge facilities have additionally been linked to rising electrical energy costs.
Citing a earlier dialog with Invoice Gates, the interviewer requested whether or not it’s correct to say a single ChatGPT question at present makes use of the equal of 1.5 iPhone battery expenses, to which Altman replied, “There’s no approach it’s something near that a lot.”
Altman additionally complained that many discussions about ChatGPT’s vitality utilization are “unfair,” particularly once they concentrate on “how a lot vitality it takes to coach an AI mannequin, relative to how a lot it prices a human to do one inference question.”
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“But it surely additionally takes plenty of vitality to coach a human,” Altman stated. “It takes like 20 years of life and all the meals you eat throughout that point earlier than you get good. And never solely that, it took the very widespread evolution of the 100 billion people who have ever lived and discovered to not get eaten by predators and discovered how to determine science and no matter, to provide you.”
So in his view, the truthful comparability is, “In the event you ask ChatGPT a query, how a lot vitality does it take as soon as its mannequin is skilled to reply that query versus a human? And doubtless, AI has already caught up on an vitality effectivity foundation, measured that approach.”
You’ll be able to watch the total interview beneath. The dialog about water and vitality utilization begins at round 26:35.





