In an age where we casually say “thank you” to our Alexa or politely type “please” into ChatGPT, a seemingly harmless habit has sparked a deeper debate. Should we really be polite to machines? And what’s the hidden cost—financially, environmentally, and socially—of adding those extra words?
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently responded to a post on X questioning the energy cost of people being courteous to chatbots. His response? “Tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know.” Lighthearted as it was, the comment pointed to a deeper question: Does politeness to AI serve a purpose, or is it just expensive fluff?
The Energy and Financial Impact of Polite AI Prompts
Whenever we talk to AI, it uses computer power. If our question is long, it takes more energy to understand and answer it. Professor Neil Johnson says that just like anything packed in excess, excessive words make it difficult to understand the system. This consumes both time and money. If you want, I can convert the rest of the paragraphs into easy Hindi like this.
This cost isn’t theoretical. Powering AI models still relies significantly on fossil fuels in many regions, making every unnecessary word part of a broader environmental footprint. For companies running large AI operations, even small inefficiencies multiply into tens of millions in added expenses.
Why Politeness to AI Could Improve Human Behavior
Even though it costs something to talk politely to AI, many experts believe that courtesy is more important than money and power. It shows the humanity within us.
From Star Trek’s robot Data to digital pets like the Tamagotchi of the 90s, history shows that when we treat machines well, we tend to treat humans well. Dr. Jaime Banks says that our behavior with AI can also change our common habits.That is, if we treat machines with kindness, we can become more kind ourselves.
Dr. Sherry Turkle of MIT, a long-time scholar on human-technology relationships, echoes this. While she stresses that AI doesn’t have consciousness, she still believes it’s “alive enough” to warrant civility—especially when users, including children, form real emotional connections with these systems.
How Emotional Bonds with AI Influence Social Norms
In 2019, a Pew Research study found that more than half of smart speaker users regularly said “please.” That’s not surprising. As AI gets better at mimicking human conversation, we instinctively respond with social cues—even if we know the entity on the other side isn’t truly alive.
Screenwriter Scott Z. Burns, whose new Audible series explores AI dilemmas, sums it up: “Kindness should be everyone’s default setting — man or machine.” The fear, he argues, isn’t just that we waste energy being polite—but that we risk normalizing rudeness if we stop.
Balancing Efficiency and Empathy in AI Interactions
There’s no perfect answer. From a purely technical perspective, trimming the fat in AI interactions saves energy and money. But from a human perspective, saying “please” and “thank you” to a chatbot may reinforce values we hold dear—respect, patience, and kindness.
As AI becomes more embedded in our daily lives, how we treat it might not define the machine—but it could shape the people we become.
Scipuz’s Take
Being polite to artificial intelligence may cost more than we think—but not being polite might cost even more in terms of how we treat each other. In the end, AI might not need manners, but humanity certainly does. Whether you’re whispering to Alexa or typing a prompt into ChatGPT, perhaps a little kindness is, indeed, worth the price.