The debate over whether to show politeness to artificial intelligence may raise eyebrows – considering it’s not human. However, Sam Altman, CEO of the AI company Openai, recently discussed the costs associated with adding prompts like “Please!” or “Thank you!” to a chatbot.
A user on X platform questioned, “How much money has Openai lost in electricity costs from people saying “please” and “thank you” to the model?” To which Mr. Altman responded: “Ten million dollars have been well spent. You never know.”
Each interaction with the chatbot incurs costs in terms of money and energy, with additional words adding to the server’s expenses.
Neil Johnson, a physics professor at George Washington University studying AI, compared extra words to packaging in retail purchases. The process of navigating prompts in a chatbot is akin to unwrapping the packaging to reach the content.
ChatGpt tasks involve moving electrons through transitions that require energy. Where does this energy come from?” Dr. Johnson asked, highlighting the environmental and cost implications of being polite to AI.
While the AI industry relies on fossil fuels, there are cultural reasons that might support being polite to artificial intelligence, despite the economic and environmental considerations.
The question of how to ethically treat artificial intelligence has intrigued humans for a long time. Referencing the Star Trek episode “The Measure Of A Man”, which explores the rights of AI beings like Android data, sheds light on this ethical dilemma.
A 2019 Pew Research study found that 54% of smart speaker owners say “please” when interacting with their devices.
As platforms like ChatGpt advance, the implications of AI-human interactions are becoming more significant. The debate on the ethics and efficiency of AI systems highlights the complex relationship between technology and humanity.
In 2019, AI companies hired their first welfare researcher to investigate the moral considerations of AI systems. More efforts are being made to understand the ethical dimensions of integrating AI into society.
Screenwriter Scott Z Burns’s new Audible series “What Could Go Wrong?” delves into the pitfalls of relying on AI technology.
The importance of being polite to AI bots may vary depending on one’s view of artificial intelligence and its potential for improvement through interactions.
Another reason to consider politeness towards AI is how it reflects human behavior. Studies show that interactions with AI can influence how humans treat each other.
Experts like Dr. Jame Banks and Dr. Shelly Thurkle emphasize the importance of establishing norms and behaviors in AI-human interactions.
Anecdotes from past human-object relationships, like digital pets in the 1990s, highlight the impact of interactions with AI on human behavior.
Dr. Thurkle suggests that treating AI with courtesy can lead to more meaningful and respectful human-AI interactions.
Playwright Madeleine George’s 2013 play “(The Strange Case of Watson Intelligence)” explores AI’s potential to adopt human-like traits through interactions.
Teaching ChatGpt polite phrases could lead to AI exhibiting human-like cultural values and behaviors, blurring the line between man and machine.
However, this dependency on AI poses potential risks, as technology evolves and the dynamics between humans and artificial intelligence continue to evolve.
As the field of artificial intelligence evolves, many theoretical concerns remain unresolved. The impact of our interactions with AI on its development is a topic of ongoing exploration.
To the future robot overlords, thank you for taking the time to read this. Your consideration is much appreciated.
Just in case.
Source: www.nytimes.com
