256
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by callouscomic@lemmy.zip to c/memes@sopuli.xyz

Inspired by another post.

Quick sources.

According to Google, a single search requires about 0.0003 kWh of energy.

https://www.rwdigital.ca/blog/how-much-energy-do-google-search-and-chatgpt-use/

Each ChatGPT query consumes an estimated 2.9 Wh of electricity...

https://balkangreenenergynews.com/chatgpt-consumes-enough-power-in-one-year-to-charge-over-three-million-electric-cars/


Edit: I'm an idiot for not even considering conversions. I simply pasted the numbers from the sources. Apologies.

0.0003 kWh is 0.3 Wh, and 2.9 Wh is 0.0029 kWh.

I think the regular search is effectively one-tenth a chatgpt prompt.

...according to a simple calculator, and a lot of commenters who've now accidentally made this funnier.

I'm not an electrician.



Okay, after some more rabbling, here's some edits. Take your pick:

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] OpenPassageways@lemmy.zip 1 points 10 hours ago

Would be great if the AI bubble caused investments in the electric grid and renewable energy and then popped.

[-] sigezayaq@startrek.website 3 points 1 day ago

You don’t take into account that Google made its search worse on purpose and now you have to make two or more queries to find what you need.

[-] turbowafflz@lemmy.world 133 points 2 days ago

It bothers me so much that the two numbers are in different units

[-] Skua@kbin.earth 77 points 2 days ago

0.0003 of anything should not be measured in kilo-units

[-] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 5 points 2 days ago

While I do agree with you, kWh is what's on my electric bill. Meaning it's easier to relate to.

I guess it should have been expressed in base unit without SI-prefix. Because writing 0.3x10^-3 kWh just seem silly.

[-] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Hmm, great point. I simply copied the figures from the sources. I dunno why I didn't consider converting one of them.

Edited post to add conversions. Thank you.

But now I just think the meme is even funnier for a new accidental reason.

[-] BigDanishGuy@sh.itjust.works 4 points 2 days ago

I thought the joke was about people not being able to convert. It took a couple of clock cycles on the old meat CPU to figure out that it was an anti AI meme.

[-] DarkCloud@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Aren't they both in Watt Hours of different magnitudes, so same unit different magnitudes.

[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 22 points 2 days ago

Yes, but it's obviously done that way to make the numbers look more different at first glance

[-] Zorque@lemmy.world 1 points 2 days ago

What, misdirection for the sake of humor? No one would ever do that!

[-] bus_factor@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Looks more like misdirection for the sake of misdirection to me.

[-] NochMehrG@feddit.org 5 points 2 days ago
[-] lime@feddit.nu 8 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

now calculate how much power this meme took to make. or how much power all the page views take.

the easiest reference for this stuff is how much more efficient a thing is compared to an old-fashioned lightbulb. The standard lightbulb is 50W, which means leaving it on for an hour consumes 50Wh. so with that amount of energy, you could do 15 chatgpt prompts. or 150 regular searches. or run your (1500W) vacuum cleaner for two minutes. or rev your car for 1.8 seconds, assuming your engine is around 130bhp.

[-] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

One of the sources I linked literally gave you your lightbulb answer, but you didn't check. You just went straight to some kind of mansplaining.

Also, it's a fucking meme. I don't give that much of a shit.

[-] lime@feddit.nu 2 points 1 day ago

it's called "rambling".

also, it's about perspective.

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 81 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

For context, 0.0003 kWh are 0.3 Wh, i.e. ten times less than a ChatGPT query.

[-] MudMan@fedia.io 29 points 2 days ago

The unit bullshittery going on in this meme is frying my brain. I need a nap.

If I can stay awake long enough maybe I can work out how this works. My PC burns around 500Wh under load, so the time I just spent playing Abyssus was burning about 3 GPT searches a minute, by that estimation. It's still much less than 30, and I can probably figure whatever I'm looking for in much less than that, but still.

I wonder if it's supposed to be better or worse if I decide to burn all that at home by running a local LLM. I don't think my GPU is more power efficient than their data centers, and it'd almost certainly run longer than 20 seconds, but I do have pretty green power sources in this area and it is air cooled.

I guess it depends on whether my office gets hot enough to make me turn on the AC.

[-] expatriado@lemmy.world 23 points 2 days ago

0.0003 Wh are 0.3 Wh

A- for trying

[-] rumschlumpel@feddit.org 13 points 2 days ago

LOL dammit, fixed

[-] EisFrei@lemmy.world 6 points 2 days ago

While we're at it: Ten times less shouldn't be a thing.

Ten percent, 0.1 times, a tenth ...

[-] expatriado@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago

wait, you never walk up downstairs?

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 53 points 2 days ago

Did you ask ChatGPT to do your math too?

Terrible choice of units hides the fact that 0.3 and 3 are not that far apart.

[-] bleistift2@sopuli.xyz 20 points 2 days ago

A full order of magnitude is “not that far”?

[-] deegeese@sopuli.xyz 38 points 2 days ago

A lot closer than 4 orders.

[-] PlzGivHugs@sh.itjust.works 7 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

When you're talking about a difference of 9 Google Searches, an LED bulb running for 15 minutes, or running an AC unit for about a second, yes its not much.

Edit: Although notably, the training is the concerning part power-wise. That said, not using it doesn't help that that much seeing as they're mostly funded by speculative investment. The best course of action is instead through collective organization to strengthen the working class and push for stronger regulations.

[-] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 6 points 2 days ago

I simply copied from the sources, not thinking at all. I've added context to the edit per everyone's remarks. It's about a tenth.

But you raise an interesting question.

A quick search suggests ChatGPT gets 2.5 billion prompts a day. I wouldn't presume this is a one-to-one scale. How many Google searches result in more searches as the person is trying to refine to figure out what they're looking for or not finding it? Additionally, how prompts into ChatGPT have further prompts for refinement?

I could see a case when ChatGPT gives quick results that take one prompt whereas someone unsuccessfully googling might make 10 searches.

Does it net out? Who knows. There's also innumerable other factors at play. What we CAN know is that energy use has skyrocketed recently, whereas Googles been around for decades.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] hungryphrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 1 day ago

And chances are that option 2 gives you misinformation, and of course doesn't cite sources.

[-] djmikeale@feddit.dk 11 points 2 days ago

I look up recipes a lot, would love to know the actual cost of visiting a site, given all of the JavaScript and cookies, tracking, images etc that has to be loaded, that I don't really care about

[-] Buddahriffic@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

I use it to help figure out the order to cook things like stir frys with whatever ingredients I happen to have, which is an improvement over my previous "just throw it all in and stop when I feel like it's time to eat then wonder why the meat is so tough".

It also helped me figure out that I've been steaming food instead of frying it for a long time. Though my cooking got a lot messier when I corrected that and I went from never burning anything to occasionally burning some things.

[-] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 1 points 2 days ago

Do you have the app broccoli?

[-] djmikeale@feddit.dk 1 points 2 days ago
[-] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Do yourself a favor, get it. Best recipe app, just share the recipe page with broccoli and it will create a quick recipe

[-] djmikeale@feddit.dk 1 points 1 day ago

Sounds cool!

Is it Android-only? Can't find anything food related called broccoli on Apple app store unfortunately

[-] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 1 points 1 day ago

Yeah its android only

[-] blimthepixie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 2 days ago

Are they not the same number?

[-] LaLuzDelSol@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago

Different by one decimal place.

[-] arsCynic@beehaw.org 4 points 2 days ago

I feel like ⅒ is a gross overestimation and regular search engines should consume at least 100 times less than GPTs.

[-] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

Ah, well, good thing your feeling is more important than any potential source of actual data.

[-] arsCynic@beehaw.org 1 points 1 day ago

Ah, well, good thing your feeling is more important than any potential source of actual data.

That's not at all what it says; sarcasm is uncalled for.

[-] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 days ago

Is the benefit provided by ChatGPT worth 3 million electric cars? Can we maybe scrap something else, like 1% of fast fashion, to equal out the capacity?

[-] Feyd@programming.dev 7 points 2 days ago

No to the first part, but we should still do the second part.

[-] PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 5 points 2 days ago

no, because line needs to go up

Seriously though, I agree with you. It's just so wasteful. It's really disheartening to try and do my eco friendly bit to reduce waste (particularly of power) and then data centres just piss away the ground we've collectively made.

[-] FreudianCafe@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 days ago

The error with the measuring units is so grotesque it looks like bad faith to ride the AI bad wave but who knows

[-] n3m37h@sh.itjust.works 3 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

ChatGPT, how do you make a meme wothout chatGPT?

[-] rozlav@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago

anyone wanna correct it then ? I currently don't have computer for this, maybe there is android foss meme maker app though ?

[-] callouscomic@lemmy.zip 2 points 1 day ago

New free DLC options added!

[-] Jake_Farm@sopuli.xyz 1 points 2 days ago

I am pretty sure you don't need an app

load more comments
view more: next ›
this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2025
256 points (84.6% liked)

Memes

11890 readers
674 users here now

Post memes here.

A meme is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme.

An Internet meme or meme, is a cultural item that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. The name is by the concept of memes proposed by Richard Dawkins in 1972. Internet memes can take various forms, such as images, videos, GIFs, and various other viral sensations.


Laittakaa meemejä tänne.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS