Recently, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a claim that has been raising eyebrows everywhere. The 39-year-old tech billionaire revealed that people politely saying "please" and "thank you" to ChatGPT 's AI chatbots is costing him a lot.
How? Well, it all began with a post on X, wondering "how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying 'please' and 'thank you' to their models." To this Altman replied, "Tens of millions of dollars well spent--you never know"
While Altman may think it is pointless to speak with an AI chatbot with respect, some AI architects like Microsoft's design manager, Kurtis Beavers , thinks it "helps generate respectful, collaborative outputs." "Using polite language sets a tone for the response," he added.
Generative AI models like ChatGPT operate on complex algorithms. These models make use of large amounts of data and electricity to function and every small interaction with them such as "please" and "thank you" contribute to their energy consumption.
Why do people say "please" and "thank you" to AI?
A survey in 2024 revealed that 67% of American respondents reported being nice to their chatbots. Out of these 55% said they do it "because it's the right thing to do," white 12% did it to appease the algorithm in the case of an AI uprising.
AI and energy consumption
A study by the University of California and The Washington Post found that generating a simple 100-word email using AI required about 0.14 kilowatt-hours of electricity which is enough to power 14 LED lights for an hour.
Considering the extensive numbers of prompts and queries processed by AI models on a daily basis, the cumulative energy consumption becomes staggering and thus, Altman's reply can be one to consider in the future.
How? Well, it all began with a post on X, wondering "how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying 'please' and 'thank you' to their models." To this Altman replied, "Tens of millions of dollars well spent--you never know"
I wonder how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying “please” and “thank you” to their models.
— tomie (@tomieinlove) April 15, 2025
While Altman may think it is pointless to speak with an AI chatbot with respect, some AI architects like Microsoft's design manager, Kurtis Beavers , thinks it "helps generate respectful, collaborative outputs." "Using polite language sets a tone for the response," he added.
Generative AI models like ChatGPT operate on complex algorithms. These models make use of large amounts of data and electricity to function and every small interaction with them such as "please" and "thank you" contribute to their energy consumption.
Why do people say "please" and "thank you" to AI?
A survey in 2024 revealed that 67% of American respondents reported being nice to their chatbots. Out of these 55% said they do it "because it's the right thing to do," white 12% did it to appease the algorithm in the case of an AI uprising.
AI and energy consumption
A study by the University of California and The Washington Post found that generating a simple 100-word email using AI required about 0.14 kilowatt-hours of electricity which is enough to power 14 LED lights for an hour.
Considering the extensive numbers of prompts and queries processed by AI models on a daily basis, the cumulative energy consumption becomes staggering and thus, Altman's reply can be one to consider in the future.
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