Talking to ChatGPT drains energy. These other things are worse.
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 6 October 2025
⏱️ 19 minutes
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Summary
A single Q&A session with a large language model can consume more than a half-liter of fresh water to cool servers. Asking ChatGPT one question reportedly consumes 10 times as much electricity as a conventional Google search. And generating an image is equivalent to charging a smartphone.
Should we be worried about that?
Climate advice columnist Michael J. Coren doesn’t think so – or, at least, we shouldn’t lose sleep over it.
Today on “Post Reports,” he joins host Colby Itkowitz to dispel myths around AI’s energy consumption, explain how to use AI chatbots responsibly, and break down our other energy-intensive digital habits.
Today’s show was produced by Rennie Svirnovskiy. It was edited by Ted Muldoon and Reena Flores, and mixed by Sean Carter. Thanks to Marisa Bellack.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The company behind ChatGBTBT has told its users that being polite to their AI chatbot is expensive. |
| 0:09.0 | Saying hello and please and thank you, it costs the company tens of millions of dollars in computing and energy bills. |
| 0:16.0 | I don't really use ChatGBTGBTBT that much, except sometimes for little things. |
| 0:21.8 | Like this week when I asked it, can dogs eat kiwi? |
| 0:25.2 | The answer, by the way, yes, but in moderation. |
| 0:28.5 | I almost always say thank you. |
| 0:30.4 | It somehow feels rude and wrong not to. |
| 0:33.4 | I've heard so many things about how much energy chat chabit devours. |
| 0:40.3 | And hearing that announcement from them back in April, I've been wondering, is it worth it to get a quick answer to my stupid question? |
| 0:45.3 | But then, I also wonder, when the machines eventually take over, |
| 0:50.3 | will chat GPT remember that at least I was polite? |
| 0:53.3 | Well, I would never argue with getting on the good side of our robot authorlords. |
| 1:00.6 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, this is Post reports. |
| 1:04.5 | I'm Kolvi Ekowitz. It's Monday, October 6. |
| 1:08.0 | Today, we're talking about how AI chatbots earned a reputation as energy-hungry beasts. |
| 1:14.1 | How bad are they really? And how do all the other things we do online compare? |
| 1:19.2 | The post-climate coach, Michael Corrin, joins us to break it down. |
| 1:30.4 | Michael, thank you so much for joining us. |
| 1:31.5 | Happy to be here. Thank you. |
| 1:36.2 | So, Michael, you write a lot about how our digital lives online impact our carbon footprint. |
| 1:41.6 | So kind of set the table for me how these AI tools like ChatGBTBT is fit into this larger conversation around the digital impact |
| 1:46.1 | on the environment? |
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