When I watch other people talking to AI systems, I often see very short, choppy commands. Concise, functional, results-orientated.
linux server full? command?
That may be sufficient for many technical purposes. In many cases, the decisive factor is whether hallucinations can be recognised, answers can be checked and responsibility remains with the human being.
And yet there is something else that concerns me.
I believe that the way we speak to AI also does something to us. Language is not a neutral tool. It shapes attitudes, perceptions and relationships. Even when there is no human on the other side.
I know the world of zeros and ones well enough from my own life to know how quickly a harsh, abbreviated style of communication can also affect the immediate environment. Those who become permanently accustomed to the command form, abbreviation and pure functioning take some of this with them into everyday life. Not out of malice. Rather insidiously.
That’s exactly why I’m interested in how I talk to AI.
I also try to maintain a form of dialogue with ChatGPT that remains human. Clear, friendly, attentive, with its own kind of dialogue consensus. Not because the machine needs politeness. But because I need it. Or perhaps more precisely: because I don’t want my language to become crude just because the other person isn’t human.
This is not always decisive for the technical result. For me as a person, it might be.
I also find it exciting that such a dialogue consensus is not a rigid thing. It shows what is important to you: tone, attitude, care, perhaps even dignity in your dealings. At the same time, I see in everyday life that even clearly formulated agreements are not always honoured. Then a “but” pops up again, or a different tone that wasn’t actually meant. This is what makes the topic interesting for me. It shows how deeply embedded language is in us and how attentive we need to be if we want to consciously shape it.
Perhaps this is precisely one of the silent cultural issues surrounding AI: not only what these systems do with our work, but also what they do with our speech. And, ultimately, with the way we interact with each other.
Last Updated on March 14th, 2026 by Rene Terruhn