Public transcript

WATCH: Sam Altman Compares AI Training to 20 Years of Human Life | APT

By: APT
Length: 3 min
Language: English
Text from: the video's captions
Transcribed: 12 October 2026

Read the full transcript Open on YouTube

Notes in English.

Summary

In this short interview clip, Sam Altman argues that comparing AI energy use to human energy use is unfair unless you count the cost of training humans, including 20 years of life and the evolution of all humanity. He says AI has probably already caught up with humans on energy efficiency per query. On the question of whether AI makes kids dumb, he acknowledges some kids abuse it to cheat, but says most use it to accomplish more, and schools will need new ways to teach and evaluate, comparing the shift to how education adapted to Google.

Key points

Altman says comparing AI training energy to a single human inference is unfair because training a human takes about 20 years of life and food.
He adds that producing a human also required the evolution and learning of the hundred billion people who have ever lived.
He claims AI has probably already caught up with humans on an energy-efficiency basis per answered question.
Altman concedes some kids say they cheated their way through high school with AI, which he calls very bad.
He says most kids report accomplishing more with AI, building new workflows and using it like Google for homework help.
He recalls his own middle school teacher saying Google made teaching pointless, and watching the education system adapt over time.
He predicts kids born today will graduate high school able to do things no one today can.
He says we will need new ways to teach and evaluate in school so every kid is brought along.

Questions it answers

00:00AI energy use vs. human training

Is it fair to say AI training uses more energy than a human?

Altman says the comparison is unfair because training a human takes about 20 years of life and food, plus the evolution and learning of the hundred billion people who ever lived. Measured per answered question after training, AI has probably already caught up with humans on energy efficiency.

Training a human takes roughly 20 years of life and food.
The fair comparison is energy per question answered, not training cost.
AI has probably already caught up on that energy-efficiency basis.

01:03Kids who abuse AI

Is AI making kids dumb?

Altman says it's true for some kids, describing students who cheated through high school with AI and assume ChatGPT can do their future jobs. He calls this very bad and says kids still need to learn, think, and be creative.

Some kids admit cheating their way through high school with AI.
Altman says we still have to teach kids to learn, think, and be creative.

01:51Kids who thrive with AI

How do most kids actually use AI?

Most kids say they can't believe what they can accomplish now, building new workflows and using AI like Google for homework help. Altman has no doubt about the technology's potential to help people learn and do more.

Most kids report accomplishing amazing things with AI.
Kids use ChatGPT the way earlier students used Google.

02:31Lessons from Google in schools

How will education adapt to AI?

Altman compares AI to Google, which his middle school teacher called the worst thing ever, and recalls watching teachers come to peace with it as the system evolved. He predicts kids born today will graduate high school able to do things no one today can.

Teachers eventually adapted to Google; the same will happen with AI.
Potential and expectations both rise with new tools.
Kids born today will be able to do things no one today can.

Notes

Energy efficiency of AI vs. humans

Altman argues the common comparison of AI training energy to a single human inference query is unfair.
Training a human takes about 20 years of life and all the food eaten during that time.
Beyond that, producing a human required the widespread evolution of the hundred billion people who have ever lived, who learned not to get eaten by predators and figured out science.
The fair comparison is the energy for ChatGPT to answer one question after training versus a human answering it, and on that basis AI has probably already caught up.

Does AI make kids dumb?

Altman says this is true for some kids.
Some kids admit cheating their way through high school with AI, doing no homework, and assume they can keep using ChatGPT for their jobs — which he calls very bad.
Most kids, however, say they can't believe what they can accomplish now, building new workflows and using AI the way earlier students used Google for homework.

Education and adaptation

Altman believes we need new ways to teach and evaluate in school so every kid is brought along.
He recalls his middle school teacher saying Google was the worst thing ever, since memorizing dates became pointless.
His own view was that memorizing birth years is a waste of time when you can look them up.
He watched teachers come to peace with Google and the education system evolve; with new tools, potential and expectations both go up.
He predicts a kid born today, graduating high school at 18, will be able to do things no one today can, and thinks that's great.

Text from the video's own captions. Summary and notes written by AI from the transcript, so check anything important against the recording.