ChatGPT burns tens of millions of Softbank dollars listening to you thanking it
The Register
Reply on X to a user asking about electricity costs of polite prompts
“Tens of millions of dollars well spent ... you never know”
Sam Altmanreported 21 April 2025- What you'll lose0/5
Nothing lost but a little electricity.
- Condescension1/5
Your manners, priced in dollars.
- Tone-deafness2/5
Joked about tens of millions while others counted the power bill.
- Doom1/5
'You never know' is a hedge against the robots.
- Hypocrisy0/5
None.
Full time4 pitchforksof a possible 25
Think the referee got a count wrong?
Call received. VAR is having a look: the referee reviews every call, and the score stands until then.
The occasion
Reply on X to a user asking about electricity costs of polite prompts, reported 21 April 2025.
Context
A user asked on X how much electricity OpenAI loses to people saying 'please' and 'thank you' to ChatGPT. Altman's short reply was widely read as a joke, but fed debate about AI energy use and being polite to a chatbot as a hedge against a future AI.
Crowd reaction
Critical commentary
The Register is skeptical throughout, noting the energy wasted on politeness and questioning spending investors' money 'to keep AI from wiping out humanity'; this is mild mockery, not outrage.
- The Register: ChatGPT burns tens of millions of Softbank dollars listening to you thanking it
- Entrepreneur: Saying ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’ to ChatGPT Costs OpenAI ‘Tens of Millions of Dollars’
- BGR: Saying 'Please' And 'Thank You' To ChatGPT Is Costing OpenAI Tens Of Millions Of Dollars
- Where the exact words are printed