By skyforbes How Much Energy Does AI Really Use? A Simple, Human Look at the Hidden Footprint of LLMs
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve asked an AI something today, maybe to draft an email, explain a tricky concept, or even help debug a piece of code. I do it too. Every day. And honestly? It’s brilliant. It saves time, sparks ideas, and sometimes feels like having a tireless, hyper-literate co-worker.
But here’s the quiet truth we rarely talk about: Every prompt has a cost, not only in dollars, but in energy and carbon.
The good news? Each query uses only a tiny bit of energy, about the same as keeping a lightbulb on for a few seconds.
The not-so-good news? Multiply that by billions of queries a day, and it starts to add up fast…
This isn’t a call to stop using AI. It’s a call to use it with awareness, and maybe tweak a few habits. Because in tech, small choices, repeated at scale, move mountains (or at least reduce emissions).
AI Is Everywhere, and That Changes the Math
Just a few years ago, large language models like ChatGPT or Gemini were experimental tools tucked away in research labs.
Now They’ve become part of our everyday infrastructure.