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20-Nov-24

Prompt

Has anyone estimated how much text is being generated by LLMs on a daily basis (around the world, by all users)?

Output

There is no precise, universally accepted estimate for the total amount of text generated by large language models (LLMs) worldwide on a daily basis. However, we can infer some general trends and extrapolate based on available data about the usage of LLMs and related AI tools.

Here are some key points to consider:

  1. LLM Usage Growth: The use of LLMs like OpenAI's GPT-4, Google's Bard, and other AI chatbots has exploded in recent years. For example, tools like ChatGPT are prompted thousands of times per minute. According to one report, ChatGPT alone is prompted around 6,944 times every minute[2]. This suggests that millions of requests are being made daily across various platforms.

  2. Data Generation by AI: The Data Never Sleeps report highlights that AI platforms generate vast amounts of data every minute. For instance, text-to-image platforms like DALL-E generate tens of thousands of images every minute, and ChatGPT saves hundreds of thousands of hours for employees by automating tasks[2]. While this report focuses on various data types (e.g., images, videos), it underscores the sheer scale at which AI tools are being used globally.

  3. Text Generation by LLMs: Each request made to an LLM typically results in the generation of several sentences or paragraphs of text. For instance, a typical request to an LLM may involve generating a response that is a few hundred words long. With millions of requests being made daily across different platforms, the total volume of text generated is likely in the billions of words per day.

  4. Extrapolation from Known Data: If we assume that each request to an LLM generates an average response of 200 words and consider that ChatGPT alone is prompted nearly 7,000 times per minute[2], this would result in around 1.4 million words generated every minute by just one tool. Extrapolating this over a full day (1,440 minutes) gives approximately 2 billion words generated per day by ChatGPT alone. Given the widespread use of other LLMs (such as Bard, Claude, and others), the global total could be significantly higher.

In summary, while exact figures are not readily available, it is clear that LLMs are generating billions of words globally each day across various platforms and use cases. The rapid adoption and increasing reliance on these tools suggest that the amount of text they generate will continue to grow exponentially.