Users are increasingly relying on digital assistants for basic queries and even for interacting with the tool in order to seek companionship. Many of the users communicate in a more human-like way, making the conversation feel more natural by remaining mindful and respectful of the language used. While this remains true for most AI models, recently, a user wanted to inquire about the cost that OpenAI has to bear when people use polite language when engaging with the models. It looks like it is not just a waste of time but a waste of electricity as well.
Being polite to AI models is more costly than you would think, or so suggests OpenAI's Sam Altman
People often resort to natural, human-like conversations when engaging with ChatGPT to improve their responses and make the process more seamless. While using courteous phrases might lead to better response quality or even more clarity on the prompts, and appear to be a positive practice, courteous words like thank you and please can be costly for these AI models, as recently suggested by Sam Altman.
A user took it to X to ask a casual question regarding using words like "please" and "thank you" when communicating with ChatGPT, and if those polite expressions are wasteful. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, decided to chime in with a playful response that got people thinking. He responded:
Tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know.
While Altman maintained a lighthearted tone, his response did spark curiosity. With many tech forums exploring courteous language when interacting with ChatGPT and other AI tools, and how that might be wasting energy and time. Even if the impact seems trivial on the surface, it can have a profound impact when extended across millions of interactions. While the numbers suggested might not be literal, every word one uses in interactions with the tools tends to increase the token count and energy use.
The AI tools do not require polite language, as no emotions are felt, but the design director of Microsoft Copilot, Kurt Beavers, suggests that using polite language does set the tone for the AI responses. It would mirror the courtesy shown when giving out the responses and help shape how meaningful the interaction would turn out to be.
Using extra words that are polite might mean extra weight and more tokens per prompt, leading eventually to more energy spent in the response. However, if your focus is to shape the interaction to feel more natural and courteous, then it might not be as unnecessary as it is presented to be.
