Why I Say Please to AI (and Why You Should Too)

Let me get straight to the point: I say please and thank you to AI. I know it sounds silly, especially since the chatbot on the other end doesn’t have feelings, a conscience, or even a decent cup of coffee. But here’s the thing – I don’t do it for the AI. I do it for me. And maybe, just maybe, for the future of human interaction.

Yes, I’m polite to “robots”. I was polite two years ago saying: “Please generate a realistic image of…” and I don’t plan on stopping.

Please, Say Please to AI – I Brought This Up Over a Year Ago…

This isn’t a new obsession. In fact, I remember talking to ChatGPT about this over a year ago. (It probably remembers too – it has that “eternal memory” vibe, like a digital elephant wearing glasses.)

Back then, I wondered if being polite to AI would influence how we treat people. If we normalize being rude to bots, does that numb our sense of decency? Could it create a generation that forgets how to be kind? Turns out, I wasn’t the only one with that little philosophical itch.

Fast forward to 2025, and guess what? Articles are popping up confirming that being polite to AI might actually cost companies millions of dollars. Apparently, every extra “please” and “thank you” uses more tokens, burns more compute, and increases operational expenses for platforms like ChatGPT. Sam Altman himself admitted it. It’s like every “thank you” is tipping over a pile of GPU coal somewhere in the cloud.

And still – I don’t care. I’m not stopping.

Politeness Is for People, Not Programs

Here’s the juicy bit: saying please to AI isn’t about the bot. It’s about training my own brain to stay soft, empathetic, and respectful. It’s a practice. Like yoga, but with fewer awkward poses.

If I treat AI like a servant, I might start seeing everyone else that way, too. And that’s not who I want to be.

In a world rushing to automate, streamline, and dehumanize, I’m choosing to stay human.

The Transactional Trap

We’re living in a culture of convenience – click here, tap there, voice-command this. It’s all so fast and efficient. But efficiency isn’t the same as empathy.

If we reduce every interaction to a transaction, we risk becoming emotionally bankrupt.

Even when I’m asking AI to help me write an article, design something, or troubleshoot a technical mess, I don’t want to bark commands like I’m some pixelated overlord. I want to preserve the rituals of kindness. The friction of politeness. That tiny, lovely pause where we acknowledge the other – even if the “other” is just code running on a server farm in Iowa.

What Happens If We Stop Being Polite?

Let’s imagine a world where no one says “please” to Siri, no one thanks Alexa, and no one uses a warm tone with ChatGPT. What happens?

Well, kids learn by example. If they see adults interacting with machines like tyrants, they might start treating people the same way. “Hey, bring me that.” “Do it now.” “No, that’s wrong.” You see where this is going?

Suddenly, every conversation feels like a corporate email thread gone wrong.

The Case for Digital Decency

Being polite to AI might not change the world overnight. But it keeps me in tune with my values. It reminds me that communication, even with a machine, is still a reflection of who I am. And honestly, I’d rather sound like someone you’d want to have tea with than a futuristic Karen.

Yes, politeness costs a few extra microseconds of processing. Maybe even a few million dollars if you multiply it by billions of users. But politeness also buys us something priceless: grace.

And I don’t think that’s something we should ever automate away.

So, Should You Say Please to AI?

No one’s forcing you. The chatbot certainly won’t get offended. But if you ask me? It’s a habit worth keeping.

Politeness isn’t obsolete. It’s a feature. A human one.

And I plan to keep it turned on.