Tech Desk 
Apr 21, 2025
As the number of people using artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasing exponentially, using “pleases” and “thank yous” in ChatGPT prompts costs millions because of significant power consumption, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed.
The surprising detail was shared by Altman after a user on X (formerly Twitter) asked how much electricity OpenAI had lost due to users being too polite when conversing with ChatGPT or other AI tools. “Tens of millions of dollars well spent — you never know,” Altman replied.
Given the disclosure of huge hidden costs behind asking ChatGPT to do something, it has been clarified that running large language models requires enormous computing power.
Even small prompts use energy, and additional politeness with extra wording compels the system to consume even more.
A study jointly conducted by the University of California and The Washington Post found that generating a simple 100-word email through AI consumes about 0.14 kilowatt-hours of electricity, which is sufficient to light up 14 LED lights for an hour.
Despite the extensive cost, experts say using polite language is meaningful. Microsoft design manager Kurtis Beavers believes it creates a respectful tone and produces more collaborative responses.
Another survey's findings showed that 67% of Americans are polite to AI. More than half of the people said they felt it was the right thing to do, while 12% joked they were being careful in case of AI's future takeover of humanity.
