Users being polite to ChatGPT is costing OpenAI millions — Sam Altman
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reveals that users sending “please” and “thank you” messages to ChatGPT is costing the company tens of millions of dollars. Altman expressed that the significant expense may actually be well worth it, stating, “Tens of millions of dollars well spent -- you never know,” during an interaction on April 16.
Altman’s comments have sparked discussions regarding the reasons behind users interacting politely with AI models. Some users believe that treating AI with politeness is essential in case these systems develop sentience and begin to base their treatment of individuals on past interactions. On the other hand, individuals like engineer Carl Youngblood suggest that they engage with AI respectfully as a means of personal development.
Debate over ChatGPT’s electricity consumption
A research paper from September 2023 authored by Digiconomist founder and Bitcoin mining critic Alex de Vries raised concerns about the electricity consumption of ChatGPT, estimating that a single query from the model requires approximately three watt-hours of electricity. However, data analyst Josh You from the AI research institute Epoch AI contested this figure, arguing that advancements in models and hardware have reduced the consumption to around 0.3 watt-hours by 2023.
One individual responding to Altman’s remarks questioned why ChatGPT has not implemented a solution to mitigate electricity costs associated with courtesy words like “please” and “thank you.” Altman has also mentioned that the cost of AI output has been declining significantly each year as AI models continue to improve in efficiency.
Despite facing increased competition from entities such as China’s DeepSeek and other rapidly progressing competitors, OpenAI anticipates a considerable revenue increase to $12.7 billion this year. However, the company does not foresee achieving a positive cash flow until 2029, projecting revenue to surpass $125 billion by that time.
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