The extreme cost of training AI models
Marco van Hurne
AI & ML advisory | Author of The Machine Learning Book of Knowledge | Building AI skills & organizations | Data Science | Data Governance | AI Compliance Officer | AI Governance
TL;DR: How much? A whole lot of dollars and energy
AI is getting smarter and better (read: OpenAI update: Strawberry is live), buuut apparently, it is also getting a lot more expensive to train. According to Epoch AI (that's a research institute), the cost of training models like ChatGPT-4 and Google’s Gemini has skyrocketed faster than the latest iPhone prices.
And I am not talking about a slight bump here, it's about hundreds of millions of dollars in training costs. Yeah, training Gemini may have cost somewhere between $30 million and $191 million, and that is not even including fancy Silicon Valley salaries.
According to good ol' Sam, his ChatGPT-4 cost $41 million to $78 million to train, and also according him, it went actually over $100 million (in hindsight).
Ouch.
Suddenly, my Netflix subscription seems like a bargain.
Don't believe my word for it. Epoch AI confirms it here: https://www.epochai.org/
Before we start!
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Remember when AI was cheap
Ah, the good ol’ days....
2020 (before OpenAI launched GPT3)
Back then, ChatGPT-3 cost a measly $2 to $4 million to train, and Google’s earlier AI, PaLM, was a bargain at between $3 million to $12 million in 2022. But now, keeping up with developments in AI is like trying to keep up with the Kardashians. Even big institutions like universities, which were once AI research hubs, are now being priced out of the game.
To quote Epoch AI: "Nope, you can't afford this anymore".
AI's energy and carbon footprint
And it is not just the money, honey.
Training these models is burning through so much energy that, writing an email generates about the same carbon footprint as producing a bottle of water (According to Nature). Multiply that by the huge AI models, and we are looking at some serious energy and carbon emissions, people.
Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4 are hogging cloud servers and they are slurping up power. This has led some people to saying that AI is far worse for the environment than previously thought. Again, Nature backs this up: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02553-3.
The National AI Research Resource
The Biden Administration launched the National AI Research Resource gNARRly (nah, drop the 'g', and the 'ly' ??) in late 2023. This initiative is intended to give researchers access to AI tools and some much-needed grants. Buuut let’s be real folks, it is still in its pilot phase and it's focused more on AI ethics and safety standards than making AI cheaper for academics. So, for now, unless you are a tech giant or a startup with deep VC pockets, you should not expect to be training your own model anytime soon. Read more about NARR here: https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/25/fact-sheet-national-ai-research-resource/.
Why should you even care?
Because if you ever wondered why your ChatGPT subscription is getting pricier, it is because AI models are burning through cash and energy faster than a Tesla on autopilot. And they come at a huge environmental and financial cost. So, the next time you ask ChatGPT to write you an email, just remember that it costs more than the bottle of water sitting on your desk.
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For more on the future of AI and its extreme costs, check out Epoch AI and Nature’s coverage on energy consumption: https://www.epochai.org/ and carbon emissions.
Signing-off Marco
Well, that's a wrap for today. Tomorrow, I'll have a fresh episode of TechTonic Shifts for you. If you enjoy my writing and want to support my work, feel free to buy me a coffee ??
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