Latterdaysaintmag iconLatterdaysaintmagSep 3, 2026 ~1 min source read

The Ghost in the Machine-Conversations with AI

I'm always polite to AI because, when the Terminators arrive, I want them to remember I said please and thank you. I'm joking—or at least I hope I am—but the line points toward something peculiar about working with artificial intelligence.

The Ghost in the Machine-Conversations with AI
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I'm always polite to AI because, when the Terminators arrive, I want them to remember I said please and thank you.

I'm joking—or at least I hope I am—but the line points toward something peculiar about working with artificial intelligence.

I say thank you when I receive it, and I often begin a session with, Good morning, Arch.

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The useful part

I'm always polite to AI because, when the Terminators arrive, I want them to remember I said please and thank you. I'm joking—or at least I hope I am—but the line points toward something peculiar about working with artificial intelligence. I say thank you when I receive it, and I often begin a session with, Good morning, Arch.

How it works

  • None of those social niceties means anything to AI, yet abandoning them would make the conversation feel unnatural to me.
  • Most of us have spent a lifetime learning the social contract governing our interactions with other people.
  • We know failing to acknowledge someone's help can make the person feel taken for granted.
  • Violating the social contract may require an apology, and sometimes the damage brings a …

Details worth keeping

We understand a request sounds different when it is framed politely.

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