Polite ChatGPT Prompts: Do 'Please' and 'Thank You' Really Waste Energy?

• Online discussions suggest polite prompts (using 'please', 'thank you') might increase AI energy consumption due to longer text and more processing.
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman noted that every extra token adds to operating costs at a massive scale, fueling claims about energy waste.
• In reality, the energy consumed by a few extra words in a prompt is negligible compared to the vast power requirements of data centers.
• AI queries involve fresh computations (inferences) for each response, making AI an energy-intensive infrastructure.
• Experts emphasize that focusing on polite prompts distracts from critical issues like data center location, energy/water management, and AI's overall environmental footprint.

Why It Matters: Polite words in ChatGPT prompts have a negligible energy impact; focus should be on data center sustainability.