Ever caught yourself dropping a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ into ChatGPT? Yeah, you’re in good company—and it’s not just your mom who’s proud. Turns out, OpenAI’s footing a hefty bill for our manners. Sam Altman, the big boss over there, spilled the beans on X: those polite chats are racking up ‘tens of millions of dollars’ in electricity. His verdict? ‘Money well spent—you never know.’ So, for all you folks losing sleep over AI taking over, maybe rest a little easier. 😉
According to a TechRadar deep dive, a whopping 70% of us play nice with AI, and 12% are just covering their bases for the eventual robot rebellion. Here’s the twist: every ‘please’ or ‘thanks’ isn’t just polite—it’s power-hungry, thanks to those beastly servers keeping ChatGPT alive.
So, is being polite to a bunch of code worth the carbon footprint? Could be. Becca Caddy over at TechRadar found that sweet-talking AI can actually get you better, less wonky answers. So, while your courtesy might be juicing the grid, it’s also fine-tuning the bot’s brain. Talk about a plot twist.
Long story short: ChatGPT isn’t keeping score on your manners (for now). But if you’re sweating the planet, maybe dial back on the pleasantries—or just get craftier with your questions.
