Sam Altman makes defends training AI in shocking statement on how much power it consumes
Sam Altman has issued a shocking response to criticism of AI's high environmental impact, as the OpenAI CEO points towards another unexpected energy consumer in comparison to his own product.
Alongside of the threat that everyone will lose their job or the ethical concerns surrounding content that's generated by the tech, arguably the biggest concern that many have with artificial intelligence relates to its impact on the environment.
It's impossible to deny the strain that both AI usage and the process of training the models is creating on the climate, as not only do data centers require an extraordinary amount of water for cooling purposes, but the overall power demands are predominantly met through unsustainable means.
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You only need to look at the impact that data centers have already had on surrounding areas to see the local damage, but that'll only extend further as the years go on and demand continues to grow — especially as scientists warn that we're past a number of 'tipping points' for climate change.
Who better to come to the defense of AI, however, than Sam Altman – arguably the man that started it all – as the OpenAI CEO has issued a shocking statement in response to environmental criticism.
As reported by CNBC, the ChatGPT boss spoke at the India AI Impact summit regarding this controversial topic, addressing specifically claims circulating on social media that each query on the chatbot uses 'thousands' of gallons of water.
Altman blasted this as "completely untrue, totally insane," adding that the allegations have "no connection to reality," but while the numbers might be far off, it would be remiss to ignore the impact that data centers have on water consumption entirely.
Reports from water technology company Xylem and Global Water Intelligence indicate that water consumed specifically for cooling is set to more than triple over the next quarter of a century, falling directly in line with the rising demands of computing.
Altman did clarify his desire for alternative power solutions amid the growing demand for AI, noting that "we need to move towards nuclear or wind and solar very quickly," joining names like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos perhaps in laying out plans for data centers in space.
What has shocked many, however, is Altman's final point, where he compares the power hungry nature of training AI to another factor that's draining the planet's resources.
"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," Altman proclaimed.
"It takes like 20 years of life, and all the food you eat before that time, before you get smart. 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."
People, unlike AI, need to exist for the human race to continue, so the comparison in this instance is facetious at best — although Altman does seem to believe that there exists no future without AI when it comes to his own child.
"Sam watches the Terminator movies and roots for the Terminators," jokes one commenter on Reddit following the bizarre comparison, with another writing: "Some might argue that humans bring value to the world outside of their ability to perform labour. Not this guy."