OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has acknowledged that users’ polite interactions with ChatGPT—such as saying “please” and “thank you”—can cumulatively cost the company tens of millions of dollars annually. This is due to the additional computational resources required to process these extra tokens, which increases electricity usage and operational expenses.
Altman addressed this on social media, responding to a user’s inquiry about the cost of polite prompts by stating, “tens of millions of dollars well spent—you never know.” While his tone suggested a degree of humor, the underlying point highlights the significant energy and financial costs associated with seemingly minor additions to user inputs.
Despite the costs, Altman and other experts recognize the value of politeness in AI interactions. Polite prompts can lead to more respectful and constructive responses from the AI, enhancing user experience. Therefore, while being concise can reduce energy consumption, the benefits of courteous communication may outweigh the additional costs.
In summary, while individual polite phrases have a negligible cost, their cumulative effect across millions of users contributes to significant operational expenses. Nevertheless, the practice is considered worthwhile for fostering positive human-AI interactions.
