Energy cost of saying thank you to AI

The attached article discusses the impact of millions of people using just a few extra words (please and thank you) in their interactions with OpenAI (and presumably other AI applications).  AI applications use significant energy and also large volumes of cooling water.  One way to reduce your impact on the earth is to save the AI interactions for those activities where AI is uniquely useful and use less energy-intensive applications when the power of AI is not needed.  And reconsider your use of “please” and “thank you” when talking to bots.  Here are a few highlights from the article:

• OpenAI has spent tens of millions of dollars in electricity because of these extra polite words.  That translates to a LOT of energy use.  While many are convinced that politeness to AI is helpful, perhaps just being respectful is good enough.
• Per the article, “According to a May 2024 report from The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), it takes 10 times more energy to ask ChatGPT a question or send it a comment than it takes to run a standard Google search without AI overviews summarizing results at the top of a search page.”
• In addition to energy use, AI systems use significant volumes of water for cooling.  “ChatGPT requires up to 1,408 milliliters of water, or about three 16.9-oz bottles worth, to generate a 100-word email.”

https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/saying-thank-you-to-chatgpt-costs-millions-in-electricity/490341