OpenAI head Sam Altman claims a single ChatGPT query uses ‘one 15th of a teaspoon’ of water but that doesn't put AI's environmental impact in the clear
PC Gamer
Blog post 'The Gentle Singularity'
“It also uses about 0.000085 gallons of water; roughly one fifteenth of a teaspoon”
Sam Altman10 June 2025- What you'll lose1/5
Water, though only a little, he says.
- Condescension2/5
A teaspoon to settle the question.
- Tone-deafness2/5
A figure with no method, offered as reassurance.
- Doom0/5
None.
- Hypocrisy0/5
None.
Full time5 pitchforksof a possible 25
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The occasion
Blog post 'The Gentle Singularity', 10 June 2025.
Context
In a parenthetical on how much energy a ChatGPT query uses, Altman gave a figure for the average query: about 0.34 watt-hours and about one fifteenth of a teaspoon of water, with no stated method.
Crowd reaction
Critical commentary
PC Gamer says to be cautious about the claim since Altman gives no detail on what the figure covers and that water is not the main concern; Futurism says his description of ChatGPT's footprint 'fell short' and obscures more legitimate projections.
- Primary source, blog
- PC Gamer: OpenAI head Sam Altman claims a single ChatGPT query uses ‘one 15th of a teaspoon’ of water but that doesn't put AI's environmental impact in the clear
- Futurism: Sam Altman Says “Significant Fraction” of Earth’s Total Electricity Should Go to Running AI
- GIGAZINE: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the average ChatGPT query uses 'about 1/15 of a teaspoon' of water.
- Where the exact words are printed