Does saying “please” to ChatGPT secretly harm the planet? Viral claims blame polite prompts for wasting energy, but the real environmental cost of AI is far bigger and hidden.
In practice, the energy used by a few additional words is negligible. Compared to the electricity required to power and cool massive data centres, “please” and “thank you” barely register. Removing polite language from prompts does not reduce AI’s environmental impact.Each AI query triggers a fresh computation known as an “inference.” Unlike opening a stored document or streaming an existing video, AI must generate a new response every time. This makes AI less like conventional software and more like infrastructure that consumes energy with each use.Data centres already account for a significant share of global electricity consumption, and demand is rising rapidly as AI adoption grows. The International Energy Agency has warned that electricity use from data centres could double by the end of the decade if current trends continue.AI’s environmental footprint extends beyond power consumption. Data centres require large volumes of water for cooling, land for construction and materials that lock in long-term environmental costs. These impacts are felt locally, even though the AI services themselves appear borderless and digital.Experts argue that focusing on polite prompts distracts from the real issues: where data centres are built, how their energy and water use is managed, and how their demand competes with other social priorities. Minor behavioural changes cannot address structural environmental challenges.This argument reflects a growing public awareness that AI has a physical footprint. The more important conversation is not about manners in prompts, but about treating AI as infrastructure and planning its growth responsibly across energy, water and land systems. (Image-AI)
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Online discussions suggest that skipping words like “please” and “thank you” in ChatGPT prompts could save energy, and even help the planet. The reasoning sounds logical, longer prompts mean more text, more processing and more power. But is everyday politeness really driving AI’s carbon footprint? (Image-AI)
