Sam Altman Names Energy as AI’s Biggest Challenge at ADIPEC
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman identified “Energy” as the single biggest challenge facing him during an ADIPEC interview in Abu Dhabi. His answer came as the UAE promoted AI as both a major consumer of energy and a tool for improving energy operations.
- Sam Altman named “Energy” as his one biggest challenge at ADIPEC.
- Data centres used about 485 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, according to the IEA.
- ADNOC and G42 are set to deploy OpenAI Frontier in energy operations.
- UAE officials presented AI as a tool for resilience and spare capacity.
- UAE AI adoption reached 73.3 percent in Microsoft’s second-quarter 2026 tracking.
Energy becomes AI’s binding constraint
Altman spoke at the opening of ADIPEC, which the source describes as the world’s largest energy exhibition. The event brought together 2,260 exhibiting companies from more than 170 countries, while organizers expected 239,000 visitors across four days.
Asked to name one challenge, Altman answered with a single word: “Energy.” The response reflected his broader argument that AI systems can become more efficient in several areas, but still depend on physical infrastructure and power.
“We can bring down the cost of delivering great AI in almost every way, except, you know, atoms are still atoms, and the physical world that has to power this,” Altman said, according to the source. He added that this would be a major factor in the cost, availability and scale of AI.
The International Energy Agency reported in April 2026 that data centres used about 485 terawatt-hours of electricity in 2025, up 17 percent from the previous year. The agency expects consumption to roughly double to about 950 terawatt-hours by 2030, representing around 3 percent of global demand.
Abu Dhabi presents AI as an energy-sector tool
Sultan Al Jaber, the UAE’s industry minister and ADNOC’s group chief executive, used the event to frame the relationship in the opposite direction: energy companies will increasingly use AI to strengthen their operations.
“Sam, from the moment ChatGPT was born, the world has asked what energy can do for AI. And now, together, we will find out what AI can do for energy,” Al Jaber said, according to the source.
ADNOC and Abu Dhabi technology group G42 are set to become the first energy company to deploy OpenAI Frontier. The planned applications include oilfield development, well management and commercial operations.
Al Jaber also argued that AI should be integrated into core systems rather than added later. “AI must be built in, not bolted on,” he said. He linked faster insight and decision-making to continuity during a crisis, while emphasizing that responsibility remains with people: “Systems don't carry responsibility, people do.”
The UAE links adoption with resilience
UAE energy and infrastructure minister Suhail Al Mazrouei described AI as part of the country’s effort to build protection and spare capacity. “All of this will require technology, and we will need AI to design better and become more resilient,” he said, according to the source.
The source cites Microsoft tracking that placed UAE AI adoption at 73.3 percent of respondents in the second quarter of 2026, the highest reading in its recorded sequence. It also says the federal government reported around 35,000 public-sector Copilot users in 2026 and set a target for 50 percent of government services to run through AI agents.
For OpenAI, the exchange highlights energy as a central cost and infrastructure constraint as AI expands. For Abu Dhabi, it supports a broader industrial message: the same technology driving demand for power can also be deployed in energy production, public services and resilience planning. The partnership announcement gives that shared interest a practical application in the energy sector.
ACN Newswire: Artificial Intelligence: What Abu Dhabi Heard When Sam Altman Said One Word About Energy
