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AI Chatbots: Power-Hungry Giants Consume Tenfold Energy

9/14/2025

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Summary

Story summary

AI chatbots like ChatGPT consume ten times more electricity than a Google search.
Data centers represented 4.4% of U.S. electricity use in 2023, with projections to double by 2030.
The AI bubble may be deflating, showing limited advancements in large language models (LLMs).
Training LLMs, such as OpenAI's GPT-4, requires substantial energy, equivalent to powering San Francisco for three days.
Google reports improved efficiency in its AI systems, significantly lowering energy consumption over the past year.

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Story summary

AI chatbots like ChatGPT consume ten times more electricity than a Google search.
Data centers represented 4.4% of U.S. electricity use in 2023, with projections to double by 2030.
The AI bubble may be deflating, showing limited advancements in large language models (LLMs).
Training LLMs, such as OpenAI's GPT-4, requires substantial energy, equivalent to powering San Francisco for three days.
Google reports improved efficiency in its AI systems, significantly lowering energy consumption over the past year.