OpenAI CEO Says Saying “Please” Costs Millions

Photo : AFP

Some people may think manners are old-fashioned, but OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, is paying millions for them. Sam Altman shared that when people use polite words like "Please" and "Thank you" while talking to ChatGPT, it actually costs OpenAI a lot of money. He said that even though it costs the company tens of millions of dollars, they are happy to pay it. The reason it costs so much is because of the electricity needed to power the computers that help the chatbot respond politely.

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The topic came up when a user on X (formerly Twitter), @tomieinlove, asked how much money OpenAI is spending on electricity just because people say “please” and “thank you.” Sam Altman answered by saying that it costs tens of millions of dollars, but he also said that the money is “well spent.” He even hinted that the real cost could be more than this and said, “You never know.”

But why do these small words cost OpenAI so much? Every polite response from ChatGPT needs a lot of power. The system behind it uses big, powerful computers that need a lot of electricity to work. These machines don’t just process information but also need cooling systems to keep them from getting too hot.

As AI technology becomes more popular, Sam Altman’s comments show that using AI has an impact on the environment. Every conversation with ChatGPT or another chatbot uses many servers working all over the world, running non-stop to meet the demands of users.

Even though OpenAI is spending a lot of money on these small polite gestures, Altman didn’t suggest that people should stop being polite. In fact, he said it’s money well spent. But why?

Some experts believe that using polite language when talking to AI isn’t just about being nice; it can actually be useful. Kurtis Beavers, a design manager at Microsoft, said that using good manners helps make the answers from the AI more respectful and helpful. He explained that when you use polite words, it sets a positive tone for the AI’s replies. This means the way we talk to the chatbot can affect the way it responds. Instead of thinking of AI as smart, it’s better to think of it as a tool that predicts what to say, just like your phone’s autocomplete function, but it can give full answers.

A study by Microsoft said, "When it notices politeness, it’s more likely to be polite back." The study added that the way we ask questions affects the answers we get, so if we ask in a polite way, we are more likely to get a polite answer in return.

In the end, even though it may seem small to say "please" and "thank you" to an AI, it actually makes a difference. It keeps the conversation respectful, and it helps make the answers from the AI better. And for OpenAI, paying for the electricity to make that happen is something they are willing to do.