$5 billion burned just to keep ChatGPT chatting

Hey everyone, and welcome to Visual Brunch by The Latte! It’s George here, the founder and writer of The Latte. Big thanks for opening and reading my emails—I hugely appreciate it!

Today, I’m super excited to launch this new Sunday edition. It’s a bite-sized, visual email where I’ll be sharing the top 5 most interesting visuals from the past week. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so why not get a thousand words’ worth of insights through some awesome visuals?

I’d love to hear your thoughts, so feel free to reply to this email. Enjoy!

This Didn’t Go As Planned (Again)

The 2024 Summer Olympics kicked off in Paris on Friday, but not without some drama. Safety worries are high with ISIS threats and vandalism hitting France's train network. But there's another usual suspect: cost overruns 💲💲💲. Paris isn't the worst offender, though, with a 100% overrun bringing the cost to $8.7 billion. That's still better than Barcelona's 266% overrun in 1992 and Rio's whopping 352% in 2016. Winter Games aren't off the hook either—Sochi 2014 blew the budget by 289%, costing $28.9 billion. While the Olympics are supposed to boost city infrastructure, they often leave behind a mess of abandoned venues, like in Sarajevo, Athens, Beijing, and Rio. Some cities, like Hamburg, backed out due to costs, while others only realize the financial hit after hosting.

Having Aerophobia Is No Longer Cool

Back in the 70s, there were about 6 fatal airline accidents for every million flights, so roughly 1 in every 165,000 flights ended badly. But things have really improved since then. Now, it's down to about half a fatality per million flights. Basically, you’d need over 2 million flights for a fatal accident to happen on average, so just take that plane to your dream destination. 🛫🏝️

So Many Options

The chart shows the monthly prices for entertainment subscriptions, based on data from Goldman Sachs and service providers as of April 2024. It covers standard individual plans with no ads, leaving out short-term promo deals. Music subscriptions are still the cheapest entertainment option out there. Since late 2022, Spotify, Apple, and YouTube decided to hike their prices for the first time in over a decade. 🗞️ The New York Times has about 9.7 million digital-only subscribers, which is three times more than The Wall Street Journal—guess people still love a good crossword. A lot of video streaming services now offer cheaper plans with ads, because who doesn't love a few commercials with their binge-watching?

And We’re Just Getting Started…

In 2022, global electricity use hit a whopping 27,000 terawatt-hours, with China and the U.S. leading the charge. But now, data centers are the new energy hogs, thanks to the AI craze. These digital beasts gobbled up about 415 TWh last year—more than the UK and as much as France. By 2026, this could skyrocket to 620-1,050 TWh, basically like adding another Sweden or even Germany to the mix.

Even though we're trying to make data centers more energy-efficient 🌱, AI's growth is making it tough. Big tech giants like Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta are some of the biggest culprits. Their data centers alone used over 90 TWh, more than countries like Finland and Belgium. 👀

Alphabet's CO2 emissions have ballooned by 48% since 2019, mainly due to their power-hungry data centers. Microsoft isn't far behind, with a 30% increase in emissions since 2020, thanks to their AI projects. Looks like the AI boom is coming with a massive energy bill and a side of guilt. 😬

AI Costs

OpenAI might be losing up to $5 billion this year just to keep ChatGPT chatting 🤖💬. CEO Sam Altman's company, worth $80 billion, might have to go on a fundraising spree soon. Apparently, they're on track to blow through $7 billion in 2024, with $4 billion going to Microsoft for server rentals and $3 billion on training data. And let's not forget the $1.5 billion to pay their 1,500 employees. Despite a hefty $13 billion investment from Microsoft, OpenAI's spending habits are raising eyebrows about their chances of turning a profit—especially with competitors like Google and Meta giving away similar tech for free. They're also juggling a few other headaches, like using Scarlett Johansson's voice without her OK and facing criticism for ignoring safety concerns. Looks like running an AI empire isn't all fun and games.