Sam Altman says ChatGPT politeness costs ‘tens of millions’ — but worth it

Responding to a post on X about how much politeness was adding to OpenAI's electricity bills, Altman replied: “tens of millions of dollars well spent.” He added, “You never know.”

While it might seem unnecessary to be courteous to an AI, some designers believe it makes a difference.

Microsoft’s design manager Kurtis Beavers told Futurism that good etiquette “helps generate respectful, collaborative outputs.”

He added, “Using polite language sets a tone for the response.”

A Microsoft WorkLab memo echoed that: “When it clocks politeness, it’s more likely to be polite back.

Generative AI also mirrors the levels of professionalism, clarity, and detail in the prompts you provide.”

A 2024 survey found 67% of American users say they’re polite to AI assistants — 55% “because it’s the right thing to do,” and 12% just in case of an AI uprising.

Meanwhile, ChatGPT’s user base is approaching the 1 billion mark. Altman recently told TED’s Chris Anderson, “I think the last time we said was 500 million weekly actives, and it is growing very rapidly,” before estimating, “Something like 10 percent of the world uses our systems, now a lot.”

ChatGPT’s surge has been helped by viral features like “Ghibli mode,” which can generate art in the style of the famed Japanese animation studio.

Altman shared on March 31 that it drew one million users in just an hour.