Should People Be Polite to AI?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming part of everyday life. According to a 2024 Pew Research survey, most AI experts say adults in the United States interact with AI several times a day. That means chatbots, such as ChatGPT, and other AI-driven tools. Should people be polite to AI? Should we say please and thank you to chatbots? Here’s what four TFK Kid Reporters had to say about it. What do you think?

Aubrey Lamirault, 11

Los Angeles, California

Being polite isn’t just about being well-mannered. It can also lead to better results. AI systems learn from interacting with people. This means a person’s behavior influences AI’s responses. Using polite language in your prompts is a good idea. It can lead to better information with fewer errors. On the other hand, impolite or rushed prompts may lead to less-thorough answers.

Basic manners improve human conversations. They also improve AI’s responses. Kindness goes a long way!

Hanming Wang, 10

Saratoga, California

AI doesn’t have feelings. It’s just a tool, like a computer. Do you say thank you to your computer after you use it? Sometimes, being less polite means being more honest. You can say exactly what you mean. Too many polite words can confuse AI.

Someone might use AI to edit a paragraph with a lot of errors. But if they say, “Could you please make some small tweaks?” it might make only tiny changes. In this example, being too polite hides how big the problems are. The AI won’t do what you need.

Ethan Yu, 12

Queens, New York

Our world needs more kindness. When we practice it, whether toward people or technology, kindness can spread. Being kind, even to AI, reinforces good habits.

Some argue that there’s no need to be polite to AI. It doesn’t have feelings. Plus, the more words a person uses, the more work the AI has to do to answer. So some people think we should keep things short. But being polite to AI can help us become more thoughtful. It’s a small choice, but it can make a big difference.

Asha Curley, 11

Scottsdale, Arizona

AI lets people be more efficient. But does AI really need to see the words please or thank you to give a response? No. You don’t have to be rude to AI. Just focus on being succinct. This is good practice in business and technology.

Being polite to living creatures is important. But being sensible about the use of AI holds more value than worrying about being polite to a machine. Let’s lead our lives with honesty and kindness. But let’s also focus on using technology for efficiency.

The Next Debate: Would you trust a robot dentist? Email your opinion to tfkeditors@time.com by October 2. Your response might be featured in an upcoming issue.

*Submissions have been edited only for length and clarity. They are not intended to reflect the views of TIME for Kids. Ages are accurate as of the time of submission.