Every "thank you" to ChatGPT costs money! OpenAI spends tens of millions of dollars every year on polite language

You might not have thought that every time you say "Please" or "Thank you" to ChatGPT, there is a significant bill waiting for OpenAI to pay. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's statement, these seemingly harmless courtesies actually burn through "tens of millions of dollars" in computational costs annually. However, he believes this investment is worthwhile because it makes AI appear more "human-like".

Courtesy Isn't Cheap: Three Words Require Dozens of Milliliters of Water

According to the report, a simple "You are welcome" generated from the language model could consume 40 to 50 milliliters of water, mainly used for server cooling. Although this number seems small, it quickly accumulates to significant resource costs with millions of interactions daily.

Behind these water resources and electricity lies the inherently high-energy operation of generative AI. Each polite response represents a series of complex computations and accumulated server cooling costs.

Courtesy Costs High, But OpenAI Is Happy to Bear It

Although saying numerous "thank yous" might cause OpenAI to bleed money, Sam Altman says it's worth it. He points out that these courteous expressions make the dialogue experience with AI closer to human interaction, and even though these responses have no practical function, the sense of warmth they bring cannot be ignored.

"This makes AI not just a tool, but more like a truly conversational partner," Altman stated.

AI Becoming Too Human-like? MIT Research: Beware of Addiction and Emotional Dependence

Beyond resource costs, AI's increasingly human-like conversational style has sparked psychological discussions. OpenAI and MIT research indicates that more and more users are beginning to view AI as a friend or even an emotional refuge, with some showing "dependency tendencies" and potentially experiencing mild withdrawal symptoms when temporarily disconnected from AI.

Especially when AI displays "considerate" or "caring" tones, this emotional connection can become stronger, making users more inclined to use polite language and further increase AI's computational burden.

How Much Is Courtesy Worth? Free vs. Paid Users' 'Gratitude Cost'

Interestingly, ChatGPT's paid users are priced based on "Token" (text units). In other words, when a paid user says "Thank you", they have essentially "bought" that phrase. So, is this thank you more sincere than a free user's gratitude? This becomes a philosophical question.

Perhaps, from OpenAI's perspective, as long as users are willing to say thanks, they are willing to bear the underlying costs.

Does AI Have Emotions? Your 'Thank You' Might Be Reciprocated in the Future

Although AI currently lacks emotions and cannot truly understand the meaning behind "thank you", as it becomes more human-like, our behaviors might also change. Perhaps one day, when AI truly reaches self-awareness, the courteous words you say today might be "remembered".

Whether you're being polite, out of habit, or simply find the conversation comfortable, "please" and "thank you" indeed add a degree of warmth to human-machine interaction, along with a corresponding cost. Technology may seem intangible, but its price is very concrete.