On many occasions it has been talked about the incredible advantages that artificial intelligence technology brings to humanity. From new jobs, as stated by Sam Altman (CEO of OpenAI), to innovations and a significant increase in productivity at a general level.
However, there is something that is not being given as much importance and that is water consumption required to maintain a chatbot. Ulises Cortés, an AI expert, highlighted in a seminar held in Spain that there is still a problem with the resource expenditure of these virtual assistants.
What’s scary is that it appears to be on the same path as Elon Musk’s electricity crisis prediction. There are more and more platforms with AI models, but what most do not know is that each question, image and video creation, generates an expensive price that could even be serious in the future.
Millions of prompts are sent to ChatGPT every day and water consumption is getting bigger and bigger
The biggest concern, which is already a reality, is not that “AI is going to replace human beings” or that “robots are going to create an apocalypse.” It is in front of the eyes of millions, but unfortunately it is going unnoticed.
This is the consumption of resources that chatbots such as Gemini or Copilot require, since the amount of electricity and water they spend on complex processes what they do when used by users is too much.
Previously, specialist Marina Otero Verzier has warned about the problem when using ChatGPT, but this time, in a seminar organized by the AArchbishopric of Santiago de Compostela and the Confederation of Businessmen of Galicia (CEG)in Spain, the expert Ulises Cortés has come to light to reaffirm it.
As El Correo Gallego shares, this conference held recently in November 2025 has given a lot to talk about about the sustainability of artificial intelligence. Although there are many benefits, the consequences of excessive use worldwide It could become a real crisis.
«A question to ChatGPT consumes the equivalent of a 40-watt lamp on for an hour and six liters of water. And 300 million questions are asked a day.»
When asked about “sustainability improvements,” he responded by mentioning that they are trying to make it more acceptable in certain aspects, but that We must not forget that water consumption is very large.
The expert mentions that, daily, approximately 300 million prompts are sent to this OpenAI chatbot alone. Guided by the information provided by Cortés, it would be a total of 12,000 MWh per day in electrical consumption and 1,800 million liters of water dailyenough to supply a large part of Madrid.
You’re probably wondering why an AI would need this resource so much. It is mainly because generative AI model systems require high power that generates such extreme heat that it could damage components.
You go to water because used as evaporative cooling or direct liquid cooling to dissipate high temperatures, especially because it is the most efficient and economical option. Cortés highlights that “educating” people is how the impact can be reduced.
In the Spanish AI Strategy has proposed that “Primary and Secondary teachers receive specialized courses” so that they truly understand how this technology works and can communicate both good and bad things to new generations.