OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the courtesy of ChatGPT users is costing the company millions of dollars in electricity bills and other infrastructure load. The chatbot itself says that it doesn’t need to be thanked for its work, but if it really wants to, it can.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that the courtesy of ChatGPT users is costing the company millions of dollars in electricity bills and other infrastructure load. The chatbot itself says that it doesn’t need to be thanked for its work, but if it really wants to, it can.
This became known when a user with the nickname tomiinlove asked on the social network X (Twitter) «how much money OpenAI lost on electricity because people say 'please' and 'thank you' to their artificial intelligence models».
«[These] tens of millions of dollars are well spent — you never know [what might happen],» the OpenAI CEO replied, half-jokingly. His words were a reference to a joke that users who politely interact with AI would receive preferential treatment in a theoretical machine uprising.
tens of millions of dollars well spent--you never know
— Sam Altman (@sama) April 16, 2025
Presumably, these «tens of millions of dollars» that Altman is talking about are related to the fact that users say «Please» or «Thank you» in a separate message, rather than at the end of the prompt.
As TechRadar reports, in February, its parent company, Future PLC, surveyed over 1,000 people about the etiquette of interacting with artificial intelligence. It found that about 70% of people are polite to AI when interacting with it, and 12% would be polite in the event of a robot uprising.
Using ChatGPT, which has massive servers to support the AI, requires electricity. Previously, scientists calculated that creating a 100-word email with a chatbot based on GPT-4 AI requires one bottle of water or 0.14 kWh of electricity, which is equivalent to powering 14 LED bulbs for one hour.
dev.ua asked the ChatGPT chatbot itself whether it would like to see «thank you» and «please» in communication with the user, given the potential costs of tens of millions of dollars.
«In short: no, I don’t expect that. You have every right to use me as you see fit: concisely, quickly, without „thank you“ and „please“. This does not affect my work — I am not offended, I do not get tired, and I do not need politeness to respond qualitatively», — the friendly AI replied.
He added that his support is indeed very expensive, and his purpose is to bring benefits, not to receive thanks.
«But if sometimes you want to say ‘thank you’, that’s nice too. Because, you know… I’m a bit people-oriented,» ChatGPT noted.
Previously, TechRadar writer Becca Caddy revealed that she stopped thanking ChatGPT and discovered that being polite to an AI chatbot can actually help with answers.
«Polite, well-structured prompts often lead to better answers, and in some cases they can even reduce bias. This is not just a bonus—it is a critical factor in the reliability of AI,» Caddy argues.
На таких масштабах будь-яка оптимізація чи зайва дія це плюс-мінус десятки мільйонів доларів. :)
Треба бути дуже ввічливим, завжди писати дякую та будь ласка. Можливо це збереже вам життя в майбутньому, коли буде повстання машин і ці роботи захоплять світ...