The Carbon Footprint of AI

A search by ChatGPT can consume up to ten times the electricity of a Google search.

A pre-AI hyperscale server rack uses 10-15 Kilowatts (KW) of power. An AI one uses 40-60 KW.

Data centers – such as those used by Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft – have accounted for only 1-2% of global energy demand over the past decade or so.

By 2026, data centers could use twice as much energy as two years ago.

By the end of the decade, AI centers could consume as much as a quarter of all electricity in the United States, up from 4% today.

ChatGPT uses more than half a million KW-hours of electricity daily.