OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is pushing back on concerns about AI’s environmental footprint. He claims that 38,000 ChatGPT queries use about as much water as producing a single almond in California.
The Sam Altman ChatGPT water usage claim comes as California Gov. Gavin Newsom considers two bills that would force data center operators to disclose far more information about their water consumption.
On the Sources Podcast with Alex Heath, Altman argued that fears about AI data centers draining water supplies are exaggerated. He said modern large data centers use water at levels comparable to office buildings and suggested criticism is based partly on outdated assumptions about evaporative cooling.
Sam Altman ChatGPT Water Usage Claim Faces Scrutiny
Researchers say the comparison is difficult to verify because OpenAI and much of the data-center industry publish too little operational data.
Water consumption can vary a lot depending on a facility’s location, climate, cooling technology, computing load and the type of AI request being processed. A short chatbot question, for example, may require far less computing than a reasoning-heavy or agentic task.
There is also limited public methodology behind Altman’s own figures. In 2025, he said an average ChatGPT query used about 0.000085 gallons, or roughly 0.32 milliliters, of water. Google later estimated that a median Gemini text prompt consumed about 0.26 milliliters, although the measurements are not directly comparable because the companies may count different parts of the data-center water footprint.
The bigger issue may be scale. A recent Congressional Research Service report mentioned research estimating that US data centers directly consumed roughly 17 billion gallons of water in 2023, up from 5.6 billion gallons in 2014.
California lawmakers are now seeking more transparency. AB 2619 would require data center operators to disclose expected and historical water use when seeking or renewing certain local permits and licenses. AB 2469 would impose water-disclosure requirements before local governments approve new data centers or expansions that increase peak water demand. Both measures have cleared the Legislature and been enrolled.
For now, the dispute is still unresolved. Altman says ChatGPT water usage is being dramatically overstated, while researchers argue there still is not enough public data to independently prove it. California’s proposed disclosure rules could make that debate much easier to test.
Source: https://coinpaper.com/35243/sam-altman-says-chatgpt-water-usage-is-overblown-california-wants-proof
Be the first to comment