As artificial intelligence becomes more present in our daily lives, an interesting social behavior has emerged: people are increasingly using polite language — like “please” and “thank you” — when interacting with AI systems. Whether it’s voice assistants, customer service bots, or chat-based tools like ChatGPT, users often speak to them as if they were human. This trend, while seemingly small, reveals something deeper about how humans relate to technology.
The CEO behind ChatGPT recently commented on this growing behavior, and his reflections have sparked a wider conversation about why people feel the need to be polite to machines — even when they know the AI doesn’t have feelings.
According to him, this behavior isn’t necessarily irrational or silly. In fact, it’s quite natural. When people interact with something that responds in a human-like way — using language, tone, and structure similar to human communication — they instinctively fall back on social norms. Saying “please” and “thank you” isn’t just a learned habit; it’s part of how we maintain respectful interaction and build a sense of mutual understanding, even if the “other party” is a machine.
But this phenomenon goes beyond habit. It also speaks to the emotional and psychological space that AI is starting to occupy. When people spend time chatting with AI tools, especially ones that are helpful, patient, and responsive, they may begin to form a kind of emotional bond, however subtle. Using polite language becomes a way to humanize the experience, to make it feel more personal and less mechanical.
There’s also a deeper societal implication. Some people argue that treating AI with respect can actually reinforce positive communication habits in general. If someone regularly uses kind and respectful language with their phone or computer, they may carry that tone into their human interactions as well. In that sense, politeness toward AI could be a small but meaningful exercise in everyday civility.
Interestingly, some parents even encourage their children to be polite with AI devices at home. The logic? If kids learn to say “please” when asking Alexa for the weather or “thank you” when ChatGPT answers a homework question, they’re more likely to behave respectfully toward people, too.
However, not everyone agrees with this approach. Critics say that over-humanizing AI could blur important boundaries. Machines, after all, don’t have emotions, intentions, or needs. Some worry that politeness might create false emotional expectations, especially among children or vulnerable users who may not fully grasp the limitations of AI.
Despite the debate, one thing is clear: how we interact with AI reflects more about us than about the technology itself. These interactions are shaped by culture, personal values, and even mood. Some users speak casually or even harshly to AI tools, while others are consistently kind and grateful — mirroring the same diversity we see in human-to-human communication.
From the perspective of AI developers, this behavior is both fascinating and useful. It helps shape the design of future systems. If users respond more positively to assistants that are friendly and respectful, then developers are more likely to prioritize those traits. And if polite language encourages a smoother experience, it may even influence how AI systems are trained to recognize and respond to emotional cues in language.
In the end, saying “please” and “thank you” to AI may not change the machine — but it might change the user. It reinforces a mindset of respect, patience, and awareness, even in digital spaces. As AI continues to grow, so too will our relationship with it — and perhaps, along the way, we’ll learn as much about ourselves as we do about the machines we build.
