Every time you type a command into ChatGPT, it travels 460 million miles an hour as a “data packet” through fiber optic internet cables to a massive data center, which researches your request, crosschecking 300 billion data points to give you personalized advice.

It’s novel, it’s fun to play with, it’s sometimes even helpful—but you aren’t the only one noodling around with this “free” technology. Massive data centers process more than 200 million requests a day, causing it to gobble up electricity like Hawkeye linebackers at a buffet.

ChatGPT’s yearly energy usage is equivalent to Japan’s, according to the International Energy Agency.

And this is all after it launched. Even before the public started using generative AI, the training of the system used as much energy as a person watching Netflix for 185.5 years straight, according to The Verge.

The processing also heats up data centers, just like your laptop can overheat when you have 1,000 tabs open (you know who you are). To cool down these data centers, companies can either air condition the whole space—which uses even more electricity, especially in warm climates—or build cooling towers that circulate water and allow steam to escape. 

Research by The Imperial College of London says that one medium-sized data center uses as much water as three average-sized hospitals, and Forbes says each AI conversation is like pouring a bottle of water down the drain.

The energy need is so great that utility companies across the world are scrambling to supply enough electricity.

Here in Iowa, sources at Alliant Energy say that they are exploring re-opening the nuclear power plant in Palo, while Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania (the site of a meltdown in 1979) will reopen in 2028 to power Microsoft’s data centers.

Any way you slice it, the massive energy consumption calls for responsible AI practices.

Asking it to summarize a 250-page report for an executive meeting tomorrow morning? Sure. Asking it to rewrite song lyrics to crack up your coworkers… maybe not.

This article appeared as part of a package in the 2025 issue of Exchange magazine about "hot topics" from the worlds of healthcare, tech, higher ed, real estate, and college sports.

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