Be Nice To ChatGPT

Photo by Lyman Hansel Gerona on Unsplash

On the rare occasion that I use ChatGPT, I find myself being polite or nice in saying, “please” and “thank you”. In fact, I was saying to someone recently that I don’t know why I do it, except that it is “human” to do so. Yet, techradar.com published an article saying that I am not alone in the polite responses I give to AI. In fact, 70% of all people who regularly use ChatGPT extend courtesy to the bot, and all those extra “please” and “thank you’s” add up in electricity costs for the source company to the tune of “tens of millions of dollars.” The CEO of the company responded to this by saying that being nice to AI is money well spent because “you never know.” YIKES!

There is a vast difference in someone being “nice” or “polite” and in someone being “kind.” Niceness is an agreeable, surface-level pleasantness that can hide true feelings or mask truth for the sake of “getting along.” We tell our children to “be nice” or to “play nice.” It’s not in the Bible. However, kindness is a word and quality found repeatedly in the Bible. Here are some qualities of kindness that are worthy of our reflection:

Kindness comes from the heart (Matt. 12:34). When we say and do good things, Jesus says they come out of the good treasure of our hearts. Yet the opposite is also true. Kindness is not zapped into existence in our hearts, rather, it comes from a desire to be more like the God who is so kind to us (Titus 3:3-7).

Kindness will speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:15). Ever want to fudge the truth just to spare someone’s feelings? Kindness is a quality that realizes that the truth, especially when we’re talking about godly living, is designed to benefit someone else and we do no favors to anyone by trying to speak “lovingly” without truthfulness (cf. Gal. 2:11-14).

Kindness will lovingly impact someone else (Prov. 27:17; 1 Cor. 13:4). There is a lot of anger and impatience with others in our day. While social “niceties” can sustain for a bit, it’s like trying to drive a Mack Truck across a toothpick bridge. Kindness, real and deep, shows the heart of the Savior we serve and purposes to see and love people the way that he loves us (Matt. 7:7-12; John 3:16).

I may want to be nice to ChatGPT for favor in the coming robot uprising, yet, kindness ought to permeate every area of my life, especially in the lives of the souls God puts in my path today. They are the ones who need to know and see the kindness of Jesus who lives in me.