And they say manners cost nothing.

Saying “please” and “thank you” to AI chatbots like ChatGPT costs millions of dollars, according to OpenAI boss Sam Altman.

Altman claims that being polite racks up tens of millions of dollars in computing costs.

Posting on X he said it was “tens of millions of dollars well spent.” 

A survey conducted last year found that 67% of Americans and 71% of people in the UK speak politely to AI. More than half of those surveyed said they do so because it is “just the right thing to do,” while 12% hoped it might spare them in an AI uprising. 

The majority of those that are impolite to AI said that they do so for time-saving reasons.

According to the Washington Post, writing a single 100-word AI-generated email uses about 0.14 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is roughly 37% of the electricity that the average Spanish home uses in one hour, according to Repsol.

 Kurtis Beavers, Microsoft’s design manager, has said that being courteous helps with the training of the chatbot.

He said: “Using polite language sets a tone for the response.”

It is estimated that the data centres that power these AI bots are using up  2% of global electricity and rising.