India, April 23 -- Next time you thank ChatGPT for answering your question, you might also want to apologize to the electric grid. According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, those extra polite words - "please," "thank you," "kindly"- are quietly racking up millions of dollars in computing costs.

In a world where we ask artificial intelligence for everything from grocery lists to career advice, one thing we often offer in return is basic courtesy. But those "pleases" and "thank yous"? They come with a price tag.

In a now-viral comment on X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed a wild but oddly logical suspicion: the polite phrases users toss at ChatGPT are costing tens of millions of dollars in computing power. "Well spent," Altma...