I grew up in the South, where manners are everything. If someone is talking to you, you respond; you say please, and you say thank you. It is a part of who I am. It’s similar to a Southern accent; it just flows like water. So, what’s the harm in being polite?

Imagine all the “thank yous” and “pleases” that are sent to AI platforms on a daily basis. For each one you send, there are millions of other people sending their pleasantries right along with you. The South is big, y’all and we aren’t the only ones saying, thank you.

The Myth of the Vengeful AI

Well, you may say, what about when AI takes over the world and all the people who weren’t polite get murdered? First of all, AI does not have feelings, so it cannot be hurt, much less seek revenge. Also, who made this sci-fi storyline up? Who gets murdered for not saying thank you?

Why Ghosting the Bot Saves Energy

Here is the truth: telling your LLM “thank you” should be the equivalent of accidentally leaving your phone flashlight on in your pocket. It’s embarrassing, and it wastes a lot of energy. Think of that each time you are tempted to get sweet with AI. I could hit you with the heavy math, talking about inference formulas, GPUs, and watt-hours, but I’ll spare you the technical lecture. Just know that generating those polite responses burns serious server power.

Does it feel like someone gave all of us a magical box of information and is now trying to take it away because we are using it too much? I get that. It would have been nice if a user manual had been delivered to our doors before AI was launched into the world. But alas, here we are.

The Future of Sustainable AI

The good news is that developers are working on it. There is hope that tomorrow’s AI won’t use nearly as much energy as it does today. Remember when car phones required you to carry around a massive, heavy battery bag just to make a call? Technology evolves, and hardware efficiency is improving every day.

As Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

Now you know. Let’s do better.