Is Politeness Wasting Electricity? The Cost of Manners with AI Models
“I wonder how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to their models.”
A recent exchange on X (formerly Twitter) sparked a curious discussion about the impact of politeness on AI models. The question, posed by a user, led OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to humorously suggest that the use of polite language has cost the company “tens of millions of dollars well spent.” This lighthearted remark raised questions about the value of courtesy in interactions with generative AI chatbots like ChatGPT.
While Altman’s response may have been playful, it brings up an interesting point about the role of politeness in human-AI interactions. According to Kurt Beavers, a director at Microsoft Copilot, using polite language with AI models can influence the tone of their responses. Beavers suggests that when users demonstrate politeness, AI models are more likely to reciprocate with polite behavior.
However, it’s worth noting that not all interactions with AI require polite language. In some cases, using profanity or informal language can serve a purpose, as seen in instances where cursing has been used to disable certain AI features.
Ultimately, the debate over the cost of manners in AI interactions raises important questions about the nature of human-AI communication and the impact of language on machine learning algorithms. While the exact financial implications of politeness on electricity costs remain unclear, it’s evident that the way we interact with AI models can influence their behavior and responses.
