OpenAI's Sam Altman Says ChatGPT's Unprecedented Growth Requires Pragmatic Approach to Resource Management.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described an unprecedented surge in user demand following the launch of a viral AI product, noting that it's an unusual level of virality that has never happened in the history of tech to any company before. The company added over a million users in a few hours, which has put a strain on OpenAI's infrastructure, requiring them to divert compute resources from research and slow down other features. Altman acknowledged the finite nature of their resources and the technical demands of generating images with AI models.

OpenAI, a leading AI company, has experienced an unprecedented surge in user demand following the launch of a viral AI product. The product, which has generated significant interest, has led to over a million new users in a matter of hours. This rapid growth has put considerable strain on OpenAI's infrastructure, necessitating the diversion of compute resources from research and the temporary slowdown of other features.

According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, this level of virality is unprecedented in the history of technology. The surge in demand has highlighted the finite nature of the company's resources and the technical challenges associated with generating images using AI models. Altman acknowledged the need to address these issues to ensure the smooth operation of the company's services.

The growing demand for AI products has significant implications for the tech industry. As AI adoption continues to rise, companies must invest in robust infrastructure to support the increasing computational demands. This includes data centers, which are essential for AI infrastructure, and the energy consumption associated with them.

The increasing complexity and computational intensity of AI models, such as those used by OpenAI, require significantly more energy per query compared to traditional internet services. For instance, a single ChatGPT query consumes approximately ten times the electricity of a typical Google search [de Vries (2023)]. This rising demand puts considerable pressure on existing electricity infrastructure, necessitating a re-evaluation of energy production and consumption patterns [Norris et al. (2025); Report (2024b)].

Major tech companies and cloud providers like Microsoft and Google have reported that their emissions have increased recently [goo (2024); mic (2024)]. This trend is expected to continue due to the rush towards building more data centers in the next few years to support the rising AI demand and the ambition to become dominant players in the AI market.

However, AI also presents a transformative opportunity for accelerating the transition to a net-zero future. AI's unique ability to process vast amounts of complex data on energy systems, emissions, and climate impact allows for more informed and data-driven approaches to decarbonization. AI can optimize energy grids, improve the efficiency of renewable energy sources through better forecasting, and support the development of more sustainable industrial processes and materials [She (2025)].

Some reports suggest that AI alone could potentially reduce global GHG emissions by 4% to 16% by 2030 [She (2025); Maher et al. (2022)], and 1.4 gigatonnes by 2035 in the widespread adoption case [2024 (2025)]. The advancements in AI for science demonstrate that AI can significantly accelerate complex challenges such as weather modeling and prediction, climate modeling, and CCS storage modeling technologies, potentially by up to 100,000 times [Chandra et al. (2024)].

In conclusion, while the surge in user demand for OpenAI's AI product presents significant challenges, it also highlights the transformative potential of AI in addressing climate change. Companies like OpenAI must invest in robust infrastructure to support this growth while also leveraging AI to reduce emissions and achieve net-zero goals.

References:
[1] https://arxiv.org/html/2507.10750v1