The University of Rhode Island’s AI lab estimates that GPT-5 averages just over 18 Wh per query, so putting all of ChatGPT’s reported 2.5 billion requests a day through the model could see energy usage as high as 45 GWh.
A daily energy use of 45 GWh is enormous. A typical modern nuclear power plant produces between 1 and 1.6 GW of electricity per reactor per hour, so data centers running OpenAI’s GPT-5 at 18 Wh per query could require the power equivalent of two to three nuclear power reactors, an amount that could be enough to power a small country.
Arguably, a great deal more than the energy you lose from opening the door to your house in the summer, once while the A/C is running.
Or, looking at it another way, an AI query+result can be just as valuable as a Tik Tok post / view.
I consider TikTok harmful, so you are right about your last sentence.
But my AC does not nor ever has actually consumed 4kW in an hour.