In an age where AI assistants like ChatGPT have become digital companions for millions, being polite to your chatbot may feel like a harmless — even endearing — habit. But according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, those courteous “please” and “thank you” messages might be exacting an environmental toll we hadn’t imagined.
Politeness meets power consumption
A 2024 study revealed that 67% of Americans say they’re deliberately polite to their AI chatbots, with over half claiming it just “feels like the right thing to do.” Another 12% admitted their politeness stems from a tongue-in-cheek fear of a future AI uprising. But what seems like a simple expression of good manners may, in reality, be contributing to a growing climate concern.
The revelation began with a post on X (formerly Twitter) from user @tomieinlove, who mused, “I wonder how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ to their models.” Altman’s reply was dry but telling: “Tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know.”
The energy cost of being nice
Beneath the wit lies a deeper truth: every word you type into AI chatbots requires computational power. And that power doesn’t come cheap — or green. Unlike typing on your phone or laptop, engaging with ChatGPT taps into powerful data centers that run around the clock to process requests.
Research from the University of California and The Washington Post revealed that generating a 100-word email using AI consumes about 0.14 kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough to power 14 LED light bulbs for an hour. While that might seem minor in isolation, consider the scale: AI data centers currently account for an estimated 2% of global electricity usage, and that number is only expected to rise as AI tools become more integrated into everyday life.
Altman’s point, whether made in jest or not, reflects a larger, pressing issue — one where human behavior, even well-intentioned politeness, amplifies environmental costs in an increasingly digital world.
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Rethinking our AI habits
While no one’s advocating for abrupt or rude exchanges with your favorite chatbot, Altman’s comment invites us to consider how often — and how extensively—we rely on AI for even the simplest of tasks. From drafting emails to writing birthday messages, our growing dependence on AI may be quietly ballooning our collective carbon footprint.
