Polite phrases in AI prompts waste massive amounts of electricity
Skip the 'please' and 'thank you' when talking to chatbots. Cutting unnecessary pleasantries from global AI interactions could save enough energy to power 760,000 people.
Every time a user sends a prompt to a generative AI, the request is not processed on their local device. Instead, it travels to massive data centers where high performance servers consume between 0.42 and 2 watts of electricity to generate a single response. While a few words of courtesy seem harmless, the sheer scale of global AI usage turns these pleasantries into a significant environmental burden.
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