Some time ago, some controversy was sparked around politeness towards artificial intelligence. The question is: does being polite to machines really matter, and can it affect the quality of the responses we get? Here's what the science reveals.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, mentioned that expressions such as «thank you» or «please» towards AI can have a significant impact in terms of costs. However, a study conducted by researchers at Waseda University in Tokyo reveals that moderate politeness could influence the quality of AI-generated responses.
Results of the study and their relevance
The research looked at how the level of politeness in instructions to language systems such as OpenAI's ChatGPT or Meta's LLaMA affected responses. They found that a moderately polite tone tended to lead to more accurate and structured responses, while rudeness resulted in lower quality responses.
This is not because AI has feelings, but because of how it processes linguistic patterns. A clear and collaborative approach can guide the AI towards more detailed and complete answers, while ambiguous instructions tend to generate simple answers.
AI as an intelligent partner
According to Murray Shanahan of Google DeepMind, language systems act like «intelligent interns» that adapt to the user's tone of interaction. If treated with courtesy and clarity, they tend to respond in a more cooperative and detailed manner, while an authoritarian approach can limit their responses.
In short, the debate about the usefulness of politeness towards AI remains open. Although messages such as «please» or «thank you» may imply additional costs, many users continue to use them as part of their politeness habits, beyond expecting thanks from machines.
The future of human interaction with AI
As artificial intelligence becomes integrated into more aspects of our lives, understanding how to interact effectively with it becomes crucial. Moderate politeness seems to be key to obtaining optimal responses, which leads us to reflect on how to adapt to this new and constantly evolving technological landscape.
Source: as.com
Español 
English (UK) 