Politeness Comes at a Price, Says OpenAI CEO
OpenAI chatGPT CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that user courtesy—such as typing “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT—has a tangible cost. Responding to a query on X (formerly Twitter) about the impact of polite language on operational expenses, Altman shared that the cumulative effect of these niceties contributes to “tens of millions of dollars” in energy costs.
Though simple phrases of politeness might appear insignificant, they require ChatGPT to interpret, process, and generate contextually appropriate responses. This increases the computing power needed for each interaction, resulting in higher energy use and financial strain on OpenAI chatgpt systems. Altman, however, seemed to accept the cost with good humor, calling it “money well spent.”
This revelation highlights the complex relationship between AI user habits and the operational demands of running large-scale language models. As usage grows globally, even small interactions have a multiplying effect on energy consumption and infrastructure needs.
AI’s Growing Electricity Appetite
The energy required to run AI models like ChatGPT is substantial and growing rapidly. According to a Goldman Sachs report, a single query to ChatGPT-4 consumes approximately 2.9 watt-hours of electricity—nearly ten times the energy used by a typical Google search. With over 1 billion daily queries processed by OpenAI chatgpt, this adds up to around 2.9 million kilowatt-hours of electricity consumed each day.
This level of energy consumption has significant implications for the broader power grid. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) projects that data centers in the U.S., primarily driven by AI workloads, could consume as much as 9.1% of the nation’s electricity by 2030. Likewise, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects that data centers will account for over 20% of electricity demand growth in advanced economies by the end of the decade.
These projections underline the urgent need for energy-efficient solutions in AI deployment, especially as the technology becomes more integrated into everyday digital interactions and enterprise systems.
Clean Energy and Infrastructure Innovations Underway
To address the rising demand, Sam Altman has emphasized the importance of investing in clean energy technologies to sustainably power AI systems. He has personally invested in nuclear fusion startup Helion Energy and solar energy company Exowatt, aiming to contribute to long-term solutions for the sector’s energy footprint.
Meanwhile, OpenAI chatgpt continues to scale its data center capabilities to accommodate future demand while exploring strategies to improve energy efficiency across its operations. The company is also focusing on optimizing model performance to deliver high-quality responses with lower energy costs.
Altman’s remarks serve as a reminder that even seemingly harmless user habits can have large-scale consequences in the digital age. As AI continues to evolve and expand, balancing performance, user experience, and sustainability will remain a key challenge for OpenAI and the industry as a whole.
