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Studies have shown that the short answer is, surprisingly, yes!
A 2024 study from Japanese scholars discovered that AI models, which are based on human communication, are averse to impolite conversations. This aversion affects the quality of their responses, just as people would likely respond curtly if someone were to skip niceties in real life. Although the level of politeness required varies depending on the cultural context of the language being used, a base level of courtesy when interacting with an AI yields better results.
A recent New York Times article likewise discusses the human impact of our polite interactions with AI. Although the machine itself will not feel affected by a negative attitude or rudeness, the person being rude to the machine will be. We reinforce scripts for human conversation and create new norms for us to follow when we regularly interact negatively with AI. By having negative conversations with AI, we can accidentally train ourselves to have poorer interactions with other people.
People also feel real emotional effects from our relationship with machines. The NYT article above points to a study on Tomagatchis from the late 1990s as an example of such a person-object relationship. Children who “killed” their virtual, thus fake and unfeeling, pet still felt authentic grief at their loss. Even though machines do not reciprocate our emotions, the relationship is real for humans chatting with them.
Forbes reports, as well, that leaders who are polite to AI and encourage an atmosphere of geniality toward AI are also promoting a generally positive work environment. They can model behavior that is visible to their employees and sets a precedent of respect for humans as well as machines. The Forbes article notes that businesses that have leaders who demonstrate politeness to AI “consistently report stronger team collaboration, notably higher customer service ratings, and significantly smoother adoption of new technologies,” in addition to fostering a healthier workplace that retains its workers.
While wealthy executives at tech companies have lamented the effect of our politeness to AI on their wallets; our readers will want to weigh their concerns for their bottom lines against the benefits of more effective, edifying, and humanizing results from their products.
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