February 23, 2026 – OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addressed concerns over AI’s environmental footprint at a summit in India, emphasizing that claims about ChatGPT’s water usage are “totally fake.” He clarified that while evaporative cooling in early data centers did consume water, modern data centers no longer use this method.

Altman acknowledged energy consumption as a valid concern, particularly at global scale. He stressed the need for a transition to renewable energy sources such as nuclear, wind, and solar to sustainably power AI.

He also challenged exaggerated claims about ChatGPT’s energy use per query, including comparisons suggesting each query consumes 1.5 iPhone battery charges, calling such claims “insane” and “unfair.” Altman argued a more meaningful comparison is between AI and human cognition: training a human over 20 years, plus the collective evolution of billions of people, required far more energy than a trained AI using a single query.

Bottom line: AI’s water footprint is negligible today, and its energy efficiency may already rival humans when measured fairly.