{"id":1705130,"date":"2026-09-29T18:05:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/UynG8fdeseczs8LhYqRFCS"},"modified":"2026-09-29T18:05:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T18:05:12","slug":"uk-government-wants-people-to-be-rude-to-ai-you-dont-need-to-say-thank-you-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/uk-government-wants-people-to-be-rude-to-ai-you-dont-need-to-say-thank-you-2\/","title":{"rendered":"UK government wants people to be rude to AI: ‘You don’t need to say thank you’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The government of the United Kingdom is reminding its employees that they do not need to thank AI systems when they produce an output, even in cases where that output is correct. The helpful note is included as part of the government’s guidelines on “using AI ethically and sustainably<\/a>,” and arises not out of a need to remember that these things are absolutely not <\/em>sentient or “alive” in any way whatsoever, but simply because, well, they’re horrifically expensive and bad for the planet.<\/p>\n

The guidelines (via Tom’s Hardware<\/a>) are a draft document, and serve only as “a starting point to support your AI journey.” And for the most part, it’s common sense stuff: Check the outputs carefully to ensure they’re accurate and unbiased, and don’t provide any inputs that you don’t want used for training purposes, because in all likelihood it will be. <\/p>\n

There’s also a note that you own, and are responsible for, the work: Multi-billion-dollar AI companies may be able to point the finger at “rogue agents<\/a>” but career civil servants have no such escape clause.<\/p>\n

But it’s the “don’t thank your AI” bit that really leaps out at me, one of three guidelines to using AI efficiently, “to reduce the environmental impact:<\/p>\n