Energy Consumption of AI - Data centers could use 12% of all US electricity by 2028, enough to power over 55 million homes annually [1] - Generating text with AI can consume 0.17 to 2 watt-hours, equivalent to running a grill for about 4 seconds [3] - Generating an image with AI adds 1.7 watt-hours of energy consumption [3] - Short AI-generated videos can consume between 20 to 110 watt-hours [4] - Generating 1,872 720p clips for a short film could use roughly 110,000 watt-hours, enough to power an average US home for 3.5 days [5] Resource Utilization and Environmental Impact - AI and GPUs require significant power, leading to the growth in size and number of data centers [6] - Water is used in large quantities to cool the hot GPUs in data centers [5] Applications of AI - AI is used not only for entertainment purposes like generating videos, but also for critical applications such as drug discovery by companies like Bristol Meyers Squibb [6]
The Real Cost of Your AI Use: Inside a Power-Hungry Data Center
The Wall Street Journalยท2025-08-06 14:00