Latest news with #politeness
Wall Street Journal
4 days ago
- Wall Street Journal
AI Doesn't Care If You're Polite to It. You Should Be Anyway.
I often catch myself prefacing my queries to ChatGPT with a 'please' and concluding with a 'thank you.' Apparently, I am not alone. A December 2024 survey published by TechRadar found that approximately 67% of U.S. AI users are also polite and show gratitude toward AI search engines. On April 15, an X user asked whether there's a cost to all this politeness: 'I wonder how much money OpenAI has lost in electricity costs from people saying 'please' and 'thank you' to their models.' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman saw the post and responded: 'Tens of millions of dollars well spent—you never know.' Altman's comment suggests, perhaps half-seriously, that polite behavior could be our salvation when AI systems take over the world in an apocalyptic future.
Fox News
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Fox News
Travis Hunter on stranger's praise after flight interaction: 'I took care of her like I do my grandparents'
Jacksonville Jaguars rookie Travis Hunter made a woman's day on a United Airlines flight to the point where she said she would get her sons to buy his jersey. The woman called Hunter the "nicest young man," but the second overall pick of the 2025 NFL Draft tells Fox News Digital there was no act behind it. That's the type of person he is. "It was just a regular interaction. It was me being me," Hunter said over the phone while describing his experience with Sandy Hawkins Combs last week. "A nice lady sat next to me, we conversed, and made sure I took care of her like I do my grandparents or any elderly person. So yeah, that's all it was." For Combs, though, it was more than just someone being nice to her, as she wrote in a Facebook post. "I had the most wonderful flight home from Denver," she wrote. "I met the nicest young man who sat next to me. He offered to put my bag in the overhead compartment and helped me with my tray. He was always polite, saying 'yes ma'am' or 'no ma'am.' Anyone would be proud to have him as a son or grandson – so polite," Combs said of Hunter. "People walking by were saying congratulations, great job, or even taking pictures. I turned and asked him, 'Who am I sitting next to?' I looked at his Jaguar pants, smiled, and asked, 'Are you an athlete?' He smiled and said, 'I'm Travis. Yes, I was drafted by the Jags.' I already told my sons I want his jersey." After hearing about that last bit from Combs, Hunter called it a "blessing" that she wanted to support him after the one interaction. "I didn't expect nothing to go into the media, but it was just me being me," he said. Despite it being "regular" for Hunter, the Colorado star has been dealing with spotlight for many years now. It will only continue to grow at the NFL level, especially considering his draft stock and how the Jaguars have already set the bar high for the two-way player. Hunter knows, though, that being humble plays a big role in his life, on and off the field. "Humbleness is how I got here, so that's all I know," he said. "Be humble and just put in the work. Keep my head down and grind." ONE OF ONE As Hunter continues to put in work, he's also excited for an important milestone in his early career – seeing himself on an NFL trading card for the first time. Hunter partnered with Panini America, along with several other incoming rookies, where they will receive their first Panini NFL trading cards at the NFLPA Rookie Premiere. "Just super excited to see myself on my own card, so it's definitely a blessing," he said. One day, Hunter's rookie card could be worth quite the pretty penny, but he understands it's up to him to make that happen. "I don't know," he said when asked how much he would pay for his rookie card. "I still got to put in some work." Follow Fox News Digital's sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
As an American, I wish the British would stop apologising for everything
I remember the first time a British person unnecessarily apologised to me – less due to any misstep on his part than for how I reacted. I think it was in a lift, or maybe on a London Underground travelator, when a stranger squeezed in or brushed past and tossed a quick 'sorry' over his shoulder. 'Oh, you don't have to apologise,' I said, reassuring him with a cheerful, all-American smile. 'Really, it's OK!'. He froze and looked at me like I'd sprouted a second head. When I first moved to London from the US in 2007, people apologised for asking for a moment of my time at work (when they were my boss). For failing to remember how I liked my tea (which they were kind enough to offer to make). For bringing me clothes in a fitting room (when I'd requested additional sizes). For leaning across a restaurant table to pour more wine (which, please continue). For being bumped into – really I should have been the one apologising, but I was too flustered by the reversal of sorries to say so in time. I couldn't understand why everyone kept apologising for these minor and imagined non-infractions. Let alone why they seemed so thrown when I insisted they'd done nothing wrong. It struck me then as a politeness verging on mortification over daring to exist in the world. So I can't say I was surprised to read that the average Briton says the word 'sorry' more than 3,000 times a year. Researchers who surveyed a group of 2,000 found that respondents uttered 'sorry' an average of nine times a day, amounting to 3,285 times a year. Only nine? Surely the number should be higher, when you consider all the apologetic phone calls, squeeze-pasts and 'sorry but could I just'-ing that punctuates daily life. The British propensity to apologise seems such a core trait of the national character that it deserves a place on the Life in the UK Test that you take as part of a citizenship application. I can almost see the question now: Which of these scenarios would a British person apologise for? A) bumping into you; B) you bumping into them; C) interjecting with a helpful comment at work; D) all of the above. 'It took me a while to realise 'sorry' is almost a verbal tic here,' says Isabel, a New Yorker in London. She noticed the higher incidence of 'sorries' within a few months of her move in 2015 and adjusted her speech to conform. 'I probably force myself to say sorry more than feels natural in work settings, almost as a way to fit in.' In the US, over-apologising is a workplace bête noire – an instant credibility underminer that will do nothing to win friends nor advance your career. Not that she's totally confident with the unspoken rules around 'sorry' deployment. This week, she apologised to her boss for something for which she wasn't actually sorry – 'I just thought it was the right place to say it' – and her boss told her it was no use being sorry. 'So 10 years on, I'm still figuring out the nuances of what this word means to the Brits.' I get it. Really, I do. Adopting local idioms is empathetic, a shortcut to conveying a desire to assimilate into a new culture. And a less cringey shortcut than debuting a fake British accent, at that. I've thrown in a casual 'sorry' or three in work settings as well – a habit often followed by guilt or irritation at myself for letting the sisterhood down, given the number of studies I've read about women over-apologising in professional environments. But then, sometimes saying sorry is the more awkward path. What's a polite, well-intentioned naturalised Briton to do? What initially seems a winsome quirk (diffidence having no better spokesman than Notting Hill-era Hugh Grant) can come to grate, and become an irritating habit. Or worse, to seem like a barely contained form of passive-aggression. 'Sorry!' someone might say with an implied snarl after whacking me in the face with his backpack on the Tube. Typically though, it's harmless. When I reached to put my shoes in the same cubby hole as another student at yoga this morning, both of us mumbled a quick 'sorry', even though neither of us were in the wrong. I've learnt to accept the occasional sorry for the social lubricant it is, especially when it brings some manners or gentleness into urban life. Other times, though, I make an effort to replace 'sorry' with 'excuse me', 'pardon' or even 'thank you' (as in 'Thank you for waiting' to the Uber driver rather than 'Sorry I kept you waiting'). They do the job just fine. Still, there are moments when the whole 'sorry' habit makes me chuckle. The editor who approached me to write this feature opened his email by apologising for emailing out of the blue. Getting in touch to offer me money to do my job? Sorry to say it, but please, never apologise for that.
Bloomberg
12-05-2025
- General
- Bloomberg
Why Saying Please and Thank You to AI Chatbots Is Good for You
Hi, it's Janice in Johannesburg, where I've recently been reminded that having good manners matters. But first... I raised my 12-year-old son so that he always says his please and thank yous. He's so well-mannered that he now even utters those magic words to chatbots.
Forbes
11-05-2025
- Forbes
AI Isn't Human, But You Should Treat It Like It Is
Photo credit In a world increasingly driven by artificial intelligence, how we interact with technology may seem trivial—until you consider the cost. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a post on X, common courtesies like saying 'please' and 'thank you' in prompts have cost the company a considerable amount of money. These pleasantries, while seemingly benign, take extra processing power, increasing electricity use and, ultimately, expense. But what if those extra words aren't just fluff? What if, instead of being wasteful, those small, human gestures are actually the key to working effectively with AI? AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude process massive volumes of information with every user interaction. Because large language models (LLMs) run on server farms that consume vast amounts of energy, every additional word counts toward compute time and energy consumption. Altman's comment–discounting your mother's sage advice–was an honest observation of actual costs. But it sparked an important conversation about how we interact with AI, and whether politeness should be sacrificed in the name of efficiency. While it's true that being polite adds characters to a prompt and might increase energy consumption, the benefits of those extra words outweigh the costs—especially when you consider the quality of the results. Here's why. Many people approach AI like they're searching in Google: enter a few keywords, hit enter, and hope for a useful output. But generative AI isn't a search engine. It's a partner in problem-solving. And like any partner, the quality of your interaction matters. One of the most overlooked best practices when using AI tools is to treat AI like a person. Thats one of 17 simple AI best practices that make AI interactions more meaningful. Approaching AI like a human interaction doesn't mean attributing emotions or consciousness to your chatbot, but rather engaging in a thoughtful, respectful conversation. Just like you wouldn't bark vague instructions at an intern or colleague and expect stellar results, you shouldn't expect great responses from AI when you treat it like a search engine. Approach AI like a collaborative partner and you'll be more likely to include phrases like "please write this in a more conversational tone" or "thank you, that was helpful—now can you reframe it for a younger, more tech-savvy audience?" These courtesies naturally extend from a more human-centered approach to interacting with technology. And as it turns out, they often lead to significantly better outcomes. When you engage in a conversational way, AI responds more precisely and thoroughly. That reduces the need for repeated prompting, rephrasing, and clarification—saving you time and improving overall efficiency. In this context, politeness isn't just about being nice. It's a strategic choice that helps: Rather than a drain on resources, this approach actually optimizes AI interactions, reducing the need for rework. Over time, that translates to faster outcomes and better results—making your AI interaction more energy-efficient, not less. But there's another angle to this: how it makes us feel. Our brains are wired for social interaction. Even when we know we're speaking to a machine, our default behaviors kick in. We're more comfortable, more open, and often more articulate when we engage respectfully—even if our conversation partner is made of silicon and copper instead of flesh and bones. According to a December 2024 study by Future, the media company behind TechRadar, about 67% of U.S. AI users report being polite to AI tools. In the UK, the number is slightly higher at 71%. Interestingly, 12% of respondents admitted that they are polite to AI out of fear. They worry that rudeness might come back to haunt them if AI systems ever become more autonomous (that's a topic for a future article). While that fear might seem like science fiction, it underscores how deeply we internalize the rules of human interaction—even when we know the entity we're engaging with isn't human. That instinctive response might actually be working in our favor. And it comes with one added benefit. Your interaction with AI tools will likely increase over time. If you don't extend these to your AI partner, that lack of politesse could rub off on your interactions with your human partners, and no one wants to live in a world without that type of civility. The shift from one-way commands to two-way collaboration is one of the most important evolutions in human-computer interaction. Treating AI as a partner, not a tool, is not just more productive—it's more aligned with the reality of the way these platforms are designed to work. They're trained on human conversation, after all. They're built to engage in nuance, context, and dialogue. When we embrace that reality, stop reducing our prompts to search terms, and start treating them like conversations, we can maximize the power of generative AI. When we were all thrown into remote work and endless online meetings during Covid, companies didn't have time to teach employees how to make the most of these digital interactions. As a result, many people never learned the skills or adopted the mindsets necessary to engage effectively in virtual interactions. For organizations embracing AI, the takeaway is clear: teach your teams how to talk to AI like they would to a trusted teammate. Encourage full sentences. Promote clarity and tone. Reward curiosity. And importantly, support a little old-fashioned politeness. Doing so not only improves outcomes, it builds a culture of thoughtful communication—something that can ripple across the organization beyond just your AI use. The communication skills that are essential today have evolved, and being able to communicate with AI is a critical one. By training teams AI best practices, companies will help them think more clearly about what they're asking for, which can lead to better strategy, clearer project scope, and faster execution. Yes, saying 'please' and 'thank you' to AI may increase operational costs, but the return on that investment is real. Higher-quality responses, faster turnaround, and a more enjoyable interaction are just the start. The real win is in how it helps us become better communicators, clearer thinkers, and more effective problem solvers. The next time you type a prompt, don't worry if it's a little long. Add the context. Set the tone. Say 'please' when you ask. Say 'thank you' when you're done, because in the age of AI, good manners aren't just polite—they're productive. William Arruda is a keynote speaker, author, and personal branding pioneer. Join him as he discusses clever strategies for using AI to express and expand your brand in Maven's free Lightning Lesson. If you can't attend live, register to receive the replay.
