AI, AI… Amazing! Or ai ai for the environment?

As you’ve probably noticed: AI plays a central role in almost everything I do at Dartschool. From writing e-books to creating training material, from brainstorming to marketing—AI is woven into nearly every part of my workflow.

But… am I concerned about the environmental impact?

Yes, absolutely.

I’m not just a small business owner, I’m also a parent raising the next generation. And while my lifestyle isn’t always the greenest (cue the guilty blush), I do feel a natural eco-reflex from time to time.

So when I read that AI consumes a hefty amount of energy—especially during model training and server usage—I decided to dig a little deeper.

Because being critical means staying critical in both directions.

How much energy does one ChatGPT prompt actually use?

I asked ChatGPT itself (meta, I know):

Act like a scientist who explains complex things in simple terms. How much energy does one prompt use, and how does that compare to charging a smartphone? Also, what sources are you using?

Here’s what I learned:

One text prompt in ChatGPT (using GPT-4) consumes roughly 0.01 to 0.1 Wh of server-side energy.
Charging a smartphone from 0 to 100% takes about 10 to 15 Wh.

The verdict?

• 240 prompts ≈ 1 full smartphone charge

• 1 prompt ≈ 1/240th of a charge

Not nothing, but not dramatic either. Until… you get into image generation.

And what about AI-generated images?

These cost 20 to 60 times more energy than a single text prompt. Meaning:

• 1 image = the energy of 50 prompts

• With the energy used to charge one phone, you could generate about 6 AI images

That got me thinking. I often (too often?) say “yes” when ChatGPT offers: “Would you like this as an infographic or image?”

Spoiler: those visuals are rarely useful. Yet. That might improve, but for now, I’ll skip the click.

Am I going to change my behaviour?

A little, yes.

Fewer pointless prompts. Fewer throwaway images. More awareness.

No holy mission—just small, conscious choices.

Am I being naive?

Maybe. But I also believe that tech companies and incredibly smart people around the world are working hard on greener data centers and more energy-efficient models.

And I think: if we all stay a little more critical and a little more hopeful, balance will follow.

What do you think?

Am I being too soft? Or just realistic?

Let me know — I’d love to hear your thoughts.

P.S.

The data above comes from a mix of reports, estimates, and of course… AI itself. (Who else?)

And no, I haven’t read every source in full – just being honest. 😉