Why You Should Be Polite To ChatGPT And Other AIs

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In my latest conversation with ChatGPT, I caught myself saying "please" and "thank you." My wife, overhearing this, couldn't help but laugh at my politeness toward a machine. Had I gone too far in humanizing AI, or was I onto something more profound?

What The Research Says About AI And Politeness

It turns out science is backing up what might seem like excessive digital courtesy. Recent research has uncovered a fascinating dual benefit to treating AI systems with respect: not only does it significantly improve the quality of AI outputs, but it also enhances our leadership capabilities in ways we're only beginning to understand.

Politeness Delivers Better AI Outputs

Let's start with the performance aspect. Recent research has revealed politeness isn't just about etiquette – it measurably improves AI performance. The study, which examined AI behavior across English, Chinese, and Japanese languages, found that impolite prompts often resulted in poorer performance, including increased errors, stronger biases, and notable omissions of important information.

Most compellingly, when researchers tested different levels of politeness across tasks like summarization and language understanding benchmarks, they discovered that more polite prompts consistently outperformed rude ones, with some models showing up to a 30% drop in performance with impolite prompts. The research also revealed that different AI models respond to politeness in culturally nuanced ways, suggesting that just as with human interactions, cultural context matters in how we communicate with AI.

Politeness Improves Emotional Intelligence And Company Culture

Let’s take a deeper look at the leadership aspect where other research has uncovered a compelling phenomenon: people who maintain professional courtesy in their AI interactions tend to demonstrate stronger emotional intelligence in human relationships. This isn't just about being nice – it's about rewiring our brain's social circuitry for better leadership outcomes. Think about it: If you're the kind of leader who barks orders at ChatGPT, how likely are you to maintain patience and respect when dealing with your team under pressure?

As AI continues to handle more technical and analytical tasks, our uniquely human capabilities - especially emotional intelligence and authentic connection - become increasingly valuable. It’s therefore important that our interactions with AI actually help us develop these critical skills rather than diminish them.

What's particularly fascinating is how impolite behaviors can cascade through organizations. A study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that rudeness spreads like a virus in workplace settings. When leaders model respectful interaction with AI tools, they're actually setting a powerful precedent for all human interactions within their organization.

The data supporting courteous AI interaction is compelling: companies that emphasize respectful human-AI engagement in their digital transformation initiatives are seeing measurable benefits across their organizations. These businesses consistently report stronger team collaboration, notably higher customer service ratings, and significantly smoother adoption of new technologies. Perhaps most importantly, they're fostering more positive workplace cultures that attract and retain top talent. It's becoming increasingly clear that treating AI with respect isn't just good manners – it's good business.

Finding The Sweet Spot

Of course, there's a balance to strike. We shouldn't lose sight of the fundamental differences between human and machine interactions. The goal isn't to anthropomorphize our digital assistants but to make them work for us in the best way possible.

What’s more, research also shows there's a sweet spot in AI politeness - excessive formality doesn't yield better results, but professional courtesy consistently does. These findings have significant implications for businesses: using respectful prompts isn't just about maintaining professional standards; it's about getting materially better results from our AI tools.

So, every time you craft a respectful prompt for an AI system, you're not just optimizing for better results - you're practicing the kind of thoughtful communication that will set you apart in tomorrow's workplace.

About Bernard Marr

Bernard Marr is a world-renowned futurist, influencer and thought leader in the fields of business and technology, with a passion for using technology for the good of humanity. He is a best-selling author of over 20 books, writes a regular column for Forbes and advises and coaches many of the world’s best-known organisations.

He has a combined following of 4 million people across his social media channels and newsletters and was ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top 5 business influencers in the world. Bernard’s latest book is ‘Generative AI in Practice’.