Global AI inference estimated at ~10 quadrillion tokens per month

Developer John Whitaker estimates global AI inference at roughly 10 quadrillion tokens per month, noting Codex alone consumed 40 trillion tokens in about three weeks. By analogy with human thinking rates, AI could surpass humanity's total cognitive output as soon as next year.

2026-08-19 ~ 2026-08-19 · 2 related posts

• Global inference may hit 10 quadrillion tokens a month, mostly unread — johnowhitaker · 2026-08-19
• Global AI inference hits ~10 quadrillion tokens/month, overtaking humans next year — johnowhitaker · 2026-08-19