The Hidden Behemoth Behind Every AI Answer

What happens when you say “Hello” to ChatGPT?
Such a simple query might seem trivial, but making it possible across billions of sessions requires immense scale. While OpenAI reveals little information about its operations, we’ve used the scraps we do have to estimate the impact of ChatGPT—and of the generative AI industry in general.

This article is part of The Scale Issue.

OpenAI’s actions also provide hints. As part of the United States’ Stargate Project, OpenAI will collaborate with other AI titans to build the largest data centers yet. And AI companies expect to need dozens of “Stargate-class” data centers to meet user demand.