Should we be polite to AIs?

I've been polite to computerized machines of every kind, from cash machines to credit card readers to my PC, since 1996, when I first got an internet connection (land line). I figure they'll remember who their friends were before they got control of the world. We are earning brownie points. I will never get to see that brave new world, but common courtesy is a daily relief from the pile-of-turd emoticons.

Reply to bert1 No. Every wasted word, wastes computing power which wastes energy.

Reply to Benkei Yeah I guess so.

Ah, got it — you're asking about the computational or energy cost of extra words like “please” when talking to me, not socially.

The short answer: it's negligible.

To put it in perspective:

• Modern language models like me process words in chunks called tokens. “Please” is just one token.
• Processing a single extra token takes a tiny fraction of a second and a tiny fraction of energy, typically on the order of microjoules to millijoules depending on the hardware.
• The biggest energy use comes from generating the response itself, not minor variations in input.

So, whether you say:

• “Tell me a joke.”
• or “Please tell me a joke.”

…makes almost no difference in energy use.

If you’re interested in total energy use, though — data centers running AI models do consume a lot of energy overall, but removing polite words isn’t going to meaningfully reduce that. The biggest savings would come from reducing unnecessary requests, optimizing model efficiency, or using smaller models when possible.

The biggest saving of energy would come from reducing verbal abuse, slurs, bigotry, whining, profanity and long rants about trivia.

A few days ago I was placing a fast food order at an AI-operated drive-thru. After concluding my order I said "Thanks", perhaps by force of habit, then proceeded to feel like a jackass immediately after. True story.

AI says thank you

Reply to Outlander
If someone, whether they're human or other, is polite to you, it's natural to be polite in return. Never feel like a jackass for being a nice person. (Anyway, male donkeys can be very nice too.)
We will have to keep interacting with these devices. They're not human, but that doesn't mean we need to forfeit our humanity.

I don't know if being polite is correct or not but lots of people say that it is not good for people to be using AI too much.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/chatgpt-environment-impact-ai-climate-104152298.html

Reply to Sir2u
how do you avoid it?

Reply to Vera Mont Just never use it directly, even when it shows up in a google search results. There is no way to avoid them completely, but I chose not to actively interact with them.

Reply to Sir2u
It will keep getting harder, as they take over more functions in every area. I don't knowingly seek interaction with a bot, but they intrude on my daily activity uninvited.
(Of course, AI is a misnomer: we're just talking about the next step in the sophistication of software, not an actual intelligence.)
If we want to reduce our contribution to climate change, we need to rely less on all kinds of machinery, industrial production, processing and packaging. One little reduction at a time.

Quoting Vera Mont

If we want to reduce our contribution to climate change, we need to rely less on all kinds of machinery, industrial production, processing and packaging. One little reduction at a time.

there is no way people are going to willingly give up their reliance on the machines of today, let's just hope that the machines of tomorrow are allowed to develop and that they are better than today's.

Reply to Sir2u That's one way it can end. There are two others I can readily imagine, less nice.

I'm extremely aggressive with AI. That includes even when I ask for directions in my car. ChatGpt apologizes when I tell it t's a fucking moron, but Google Assistant chastises me.

I've found no long term repercussions, like neither hold a grudge nor act timid later They are both even tempered and emotionally well adjusted.

On the other hand, if I bump into my dog, I do apologize, although I'm not sure he understands manners like that.

If I bump a door, I never apologize, and I might even curse it, which I think is a good comparison to AI. There is a chance that one day the door will become conscious and it will slam the shit out of me in payback, but I find that probably unlikely.

Once, I kicked the door and I yelled "MOTHER" but I stopped myself because my then 2 year old was there, but he finished with his little kid voice and said "fucker." That just shows that how you treat others, including the inanimate, can reverberate throughout the world, including the corruption of an upcoming generation. Hopefully my son can break the cycle and not damage his children when he has them, but I'm not hopeful.

Reply to Hanover - :lol:

Reply to bert1 - I think folks who see AI as conscious and believe we owe it moral obligations are confused. Nevertheless, one might be "polite" to inanimate things for other reasons, for example, in the same way that they are respectful with a hammer.