From Perception to Action: Can UI Interventions Foster Sustainable LLM Chatbot
Pith reviewed 2026-06-27 12:28 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
Sustainability-oriented UI interventions can improve awareness and support more energy-responsible interaction patterns in LLM chatbots.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
Sustainability-oriented UI interventions can improve awareness and support more energy-responsible interaction patterns in LLM chatbots. The interventions consist of a three-mode switch, per-response energy feedback, pre-send estimates, a usage metrics dashboard, and energy analogies. In the field study Energy-efficient mode was selected for 55.8 percent of prompts, participants did not shorten their inputs, and 90.9 percent reported choosing the efficient mode when high accuracy was unnecessary.
What carries the argument
the three-mode switch (Energy-efficient, Balanced, Performance) together with per-response energy feedback, pre-send estimates, usage dashboard, and energy analogies, which together allow users to see and act on consumption differences at the moment of interaction.
If this is right
- Users select the Energy-efficient mode for roughly 56 percent of prompts when accuracy demands are low.
- Mode switching rather than shorter prompts becomes the main way users reduce energy use.
- Adding these UI elements does not reduce reported usability.
- The approach supplies behavioral estimates that can sit alongside backend efficiency improvements.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The same mode-and-feedback pattern could be tested in other conversational AI systems where energy cost is a concern.
- Longer deployments would be needed to check whether the observed mode choices persist beyond the initial five days.
- Pairing the UI signals with actual server-side energy measurements rather than estimates would tighten the link between choice and impact.
Load-bearing premise
A five-day study with eleven participants produces generalizable evidence of lasting behavioral change and that self-reported mode choices plus prototype energy estimates accurately capture real energy-responsible use without hidden performance costs.
What would settle it
A controlled comparison in which users given the same prototype but without the mode switch, feedback, or dashboard show no increase in selection of lower-energy options, or in which measured task accuracy drops when the efficient mode is chosen.
read the original abstract
LLM-powered chatbots are increasingly embedded in everyday workflows, raising sustainability concerns due to their energy use. Most mitigation strategies emphasize model or infrastructure efficiency, while the user-interface (UI) layer remains underexplored despite its potential to shape interaction behavior. We investigate whether sustainability-oriented UI interventions can increase users' energy awareness and encourage more energy-responsible chatbot use without reducing usability. We first conducted a baseline survey with 77 participants to assess awareness and receptiveness to intervention concepts. Guided by prior work on persuasive technology and choice architecture, we implemented a web-based chatbot prototype with a three-mode switch (Energy-efficient, Balanced, Performance), per-response energy feedback, pre-send energy estimates, a usage metrics dashboard, and energy analogies. We then evaluated the prototype in a five-day field study with 11 participants. In the baseline survey, 94.8% of respondents reported at least some awareness of AI energy use, yet 88.3% misestimated actual consumption. Although concern about environmental impact was high, only 39.0% indicated willingness to accept a performance trade-off for lower energy use. In the field study, Energy-efficient mode accounted for 55.8% of logged prompts, while 90.9% self-reported actively choosing Eco-mode when high accuracy was not required. Participants did not reduce prompt length, suggesting mode switching as the primary behavioral mechanism. Sustainability-oriented UI interventions can improve awareness and support more energy-responsible interaction patterns in LLM chatbots. These effects are best interpreted as behavioral and model-based estimates that complement backend efficiency work, and the provided prototype and replication package support further research on energy-aware conversational AI design.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper claims that sustainability-oriented UI interventions (three-mode energy switch, per-response feedback, pre-send estimates, dashboard, and analogies) in LLM chatbots can increase users' energy awareness and encourage more energy-responsible interaction patterns without harming usability. This is supported by a baseline survey (n=77) showing high awareness but misestimation of consumption and low willingness for performance trade-offs, plus a 5-day field study (n=11) where Energy-efficient mode was used in 55.8% of logged prompts (with 90.9% self-reporting active choice) and no reduction in prompt length.
Significance. If the field-study evidence were stronger, the work would be significant for shifting focus from model/infrastructure efficiency to the underexplored UI layer in sustainable conversational AI. The provision of a web-based prototype and replication package is a concrete strength that enables follow-on research. The survey data on awareness gaps and trade-off willingness are useful descriptive contributions.
major comments (2)
- [Field study section] Field study section (and abstract): The central claim that the interventions 'support more energy-responsible interaction patterns' rests on a 5-day study with n=11, no control arm, no pre/post baseline, no statistical tests, and no effect sizes. Logged Energy-efficient mode usage is only 55.8% while self-reports reach 90.9%, raising the possibility of demand effects or selection bias that cannot be ruled out.
- [Abstract and field study section] Abstract and field study section: Energy consumption is assessed only via prototype estimates rather than objective backend measurements, and the study reports no evaluation of potential hidden performance costs or usability trade-offs despite the survey finding that only 39% of respondents would accept such trade-offs.
minor comments (1)
- [Abstract] The abstract states that 'Participants did not reduce prompt length' as evidence for mode switching as the mechanism, but without a control condition this observational pattern cannot be attributed to the UI features.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the constructive feedback highlighting key limitations in our field study. We address each major comment below and will revise the manuscript to better reflect the exploratory scope of the work.
read point-by-point responses
-
Referee: [Field study section] Field study section (and abstract): The central claim that the interventions 'support more energy-responsible interaction patterns' rests on a 5-day study with n=11, no control arm, no pre/post baseline, no statistical tests, and no effect sizes. Logged Energy-efficient mode usage is only 55.8% while self-reports reach 90.9%, raising the possibility of demand effects or selection bias that cannot be ruled out.
Authors: We agree the study design limits causal claims: n=11 is small, there is no control arm, and no statistical tests or effect sizes are reported. The work was positioned as an initial field exploration of usage patterns rather than a confirmatory experiment. The 55.8% figure is aggregate usage across all prompts, while the 90.9% self-report applies specifically to cases where participants stated high accuracy was not required; we will clarify this distinction. We will revise the abstract and field-study section to emphasize the preliminary nature of the results, add an explicit limitations subsection discussing demand effects and selection bias, and avoid language implying strong causal support for the interventions. revision: partial
-
Referee: [Abstract and field study section] Abstract and field study section: Energy consumption is assessed only via prototype estimates rather than objective backend measurements, and the study reports no evaluation of potential hidden performance costs or usability trade-offs despite the survey finding that only 39% of respondents would accept such trade-offs.
Authors: Energy figures rely on published per-token estimates applied within the prototype because direct backend instrumentation was unavailable for this web-based implementation; we will state this explicitly in the methods. The field study used prompt length as a behavioral proxy and found no reduction, but we did not measure output quality, latency differences, or user satisfaction with responses across modes. Given the survey result that only 39% would accept performance trade-offs, we will revise the abstract to qualify or remove the unqualified claim of 'without reducing usability' and expand the discussion to identify direct evaluation of performance costs as future work. revision: yes
Circularity Check
No circularity: purely empirical survey and field study with no derivations or fitted predictions
full rationale
The paper reports results from a baseline survey (N=77) and 5-day field study (N=11) using logged mode usage (55.8% Energy-efficient), self-reports (90.9%), and awareness percentages. No equations, parameters, predictions, or first-principles derivations appear; the conclusion that UI interventions 'can improve awareness and support more energy-responsible interaction patterns' is an observational summary of the collected data, not a reduction to prior fitted quantities or self-citations by construction. Self-citations or prior work on persuasive technology are cited only for design guidance, not as load-bearing uniqueness theorems or ansatzes that force the result.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (2)
- domain assumption Prototype energy estimates and feedback accurately reflect real consumption differences between modes
- domain assumption Self-reported mode choices and lack of prompt-length change indicate genuine energy-responsible behavior without hidden costs
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
Orne , title =
Martin T. Orne , title =. American Psychologist , volume =
-
[2]
Podsakoff and Scott B
Philip M. Podsakoff and Scott B. MacKenzie and Jeong-Yeon Lee and Nathan P. Podsakoff , title =. Journal of Applied Psychology , volume =
-
[3]
Medical Education , volume =
Sally Jamieson , title =. Medical Education , volume =
-
[4]
2009 Third International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science , pages =
Guidelines for industrially-based multiple case studies in software engineering , author =. 2009 Third International Conference on Research Challenges in Information Science , pages =. 2009 , organization =
2009
-
[5]
Qualitative Research in Psychology , volume =
Virginia Braun and Victoria Clarke , title =. Qualitative Research in Psychology , volume =
-
[6]
Congress of the International Ergonomics Association , pages=
Can interventions based on user interface design help reduce the risks associated with smartphone use while walking? , author=. Congress of the International Ergonomics Association , pages=. 2018 , organization=
2018
-
[7]
Behaviour & Information Technology , volume=
User-centred quality of UI interventions aiming to influence online news commenting behaviour , author=. Behaviour & Information Technology , volume=. 2023 , publisher=
2023
-
[8]
Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications , pages=
Promoting sustainable charging through user interface interventions , author=. Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Automotive User Interfaces and Interactive Vehicular Applications , pages=
-
[9]
Shaping Sustainable Decisions by Design: Implications of Interface Design and Energy Label Understanding on Sustainable Behavior , note =
-
[10]
Journal of Behavioral Decision Making , volume =
A Review and Taxonomy of Choice Architecture Techniques , author =. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making , volume =
-
[11]
Routledge Handbook of Policy Design , pages =
Persuasive Systems Design: Key Issues, Process Model and System Features , author =. Routledge Handbook of Policy Design , pages =. 2018 , publisher =
2018
-
[12]
Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology , pages =
A Behavior Model for Persuasive Design , author =. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Persuasive Technology , pages =
-
[13]
2010 , publisher =
Design with Intent: 101 Patterns for Influencing Behaviour through Design , author =. 2010 , publisher =
2010
-
[14]
Business & Information Systems Engineering , volume =
Digital nudging , author =. Business & Information Systems Engineering , volume =. 2016 , publisher =
2016
-
[15]
2021 , publisher =
Nudge: The final edition , author =. 2021 , publisher =
2021
-
[16]
How to encourage users to choose energy-saving programs and settings when washing laundry , author =
Sustainability by design. How to encourage users to choose energy-saving programs and settings when washing laundry , author =. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems , pages =
2023
-
[17]
A Review for
The Effectiveness of Feedback on Energy Consumption , author =. A Review for
-
[18]
Energy Efficiency , volume =
The Use of Apps to Promote Energy Saving: A Study of Smart Meter--Related Feedback in the Netherlands , author =. Energy Efficiency , volume =. 2019 , publisher=
2019
-
[19]
Energy Policy , volume =
Empowering the End-User in Smart Grids: Recommendations for the Design of Products and Services , author =. Energy Policy , volume =. 2013 , publisher=
2013
-
[20]
Proceedings of the
The Design of Eco-Feedback Technology , author =. Proceedings of the
-
[21]
, booktitle =
Froehlich, Jon and Dillahunt, Tawanna and Klasnja, Predrag and Mankoff, Jennifer and Consolvo, Sunny and Harrison, Beverly and Landay, James A. , booktitle =
-
[22]
and McGuire, Robert and Thompson, Robert and others , booktitle =
Mankoff, Jennifer and Fussell, Susan and Dillahunt, Tawanna and Glaves, Rachel and Grevet, Catherine and Johnson, Michael and Matthews, Deanna and Matthews, H. and McGuire, Robert and Thompson, Robert and others , booktitle =
-
[23]
Journal of Public Economics , volume =
Social Norms and Energy Conservation , author =. Journal of Public Economics , volume =. 2011 , publisher=
2011
-
[24]
Psychological Bulletin , volume =
The Effects of Feedback on Energy Conservation: A Meta-Analysis , author =. Psychological Bulletin , volume =. 2015 , publisher=
2015
-
[25]
American Economic Review , volume =
The Short-Run and Long-Run Effects of Behavioral Interventions: Experimental Evidence from Energy Conservation , author =. American Economic Review , volume =. 2014 , publisher=
2014
-
[26]
International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy , volume =
Gamification in Energy Consumption: A Model for Consumers' Energy Saving , author =. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy , volume =
-
[27]
An Adaptive Learning with Gamification & Conversational
Fadhil, Ahmed and Villafiorita, Adolfo , booktitle =. An Adaptive Learning with Gamification & Conversational
-
[28]
OpenAI's weekly active users surpass 400 million , year =
-
[29]
A Complete Survey on
Dam, Sumit Kumar and Hong, Choong Seon and Qiao, Yu and Zhang, Chaoning , journal =. A Complete Survey on. 2024 , note =
2024
-
[30]
Cognitive Computation , volume =
Pruning Deep Neural Networks for Green Energy-Efficient Models: A Survey , author =. Cognitive Computation , volume =. 2024 , publisher=. doi:10.1007/s12559-024-10313-0 , url =
-
[31]
Labadze, Lasha and Grigolia, Maya and Machaidze, Lela , journal =. Role of. 2023 , publisher=
2023
-
[32]
Revolutionizing e-Health: The Transformative Role of
Wah, Jack Ng Kok , journal =. Revolutionizing e-Health: The Transformative Role of. 2025 , publisher=
2025
-
[33]
A Systematic Review of Green
Verdecchia, Roberto and Sallou, June and Cruz, Lu. A Systematic Review of Green. WIREs Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery , volume =. 2023 , publisher=
2023
-
[34]
Sustainable
Wu, Carole-Jean and Raghavendra, Ramya and Gupta, Udit and Acun, Bilge and Ardalani, Newsha and Maeng, Kiwan and Chang, Gloria and Aga, Fiona and Huang, Jinshi and Bai, Charles and others , journal =. Sustainable
-
[35]
Greening
Cruz, Lu. Greening. 2025 , publisher=
2025
-
[36]
Procedia Computer Science , volume =
Why Don’t Software Companies Care About Software Energy Efficiency? A Survey of Software Industry Developers , author =. Procedia Computer Science , volume =. 2024 , publisher=
2024
-
[37]
Awakening Awareness on Energy Consumption in Software Engineering , author =. 2017. 2017 , organization =
2017
-
[38]
Ecology and Society , volume =
Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity , author =. Ecology and Society , volume =. 2009 , publisher=
2009
-
[39]
Science Advances , volume =
Earth Beyond Six of Nine Planetary Boundaries , author =. Science Advances , volume =. 2023 , publisher=
2023
-
[40]
Sustainable Production and Consumption , volume =
Evaluation of Life Cycle Impacts of European Electricity Generation in Relation to the Planetary Boundaries , author =. Sustainable Production and Consumption , volume =. 2023 , publisher=
2023
-
[41]
Energy and Policy Considerations for Deep Learning in
Strubell, Emma and Ganesh, Ananya and McCallum, Andrew , booktitle =. Energy and Policy Considerations for Deep Learning in. 2019 , publisher =
2019
-
[42]
Journal of Machine Learning Research , volume =
Towards the Systematic Reporting of the Energy and Carbon Footprints of Machine Learning , author =. Journal of Machine Learning Research , volume =. 2020 , publisher=
2020
-
[43]
and Luccioni, Sasha , booktitle =
Wang, Xiaorong and Na, Clara and Strubell, Emma and Friedler, Sorelle A. and Luccioni, Sasha , booktitle =. Energy and Carbon Considerations of Fine-Tuning. 2023 , publisher =
2023
-
[44]
Joule , volume =
The Growing Energy Footprint of Artificial Intelligence , author =. Joule , volume =. 2023 , publisher=
2023
-
[45]
Estimating the Increase in Emissions Caused by
Vanderbauwhede, Wim , howpublished =. Estimating the Increase in Emissions Caused by. 2024 , note =
2024
-
[46]
MLScent: A tool for anti-pattern detection in ML projects,
Nguyen, Vince and Dhopate, Vidya and Huynh, Hieu Trung and Bouhlal, Hiba and Annengala, Anusha and Scoccia, Gian Luca and Martinez, Matias and Stoico, Vincenzo and Malavolta, Ivano , booktitle =. On-Device or Remote? On the Energy Efficiency of Fetching. 2025 , publisher =. doi:10.1109/CAIN66642.2025.00016 , url =
-
[47]
Engineering , volume=
Preventing the immense increase in the life-cycle energy and carbon footprints of llm-powered intelligent chatbots , author=. Engineering , volume=. 2024 , publisher=
2024
-
[48]
2024 , publisher=
Measuring and Improving the Energy Efficiency of Large Language Models Inference , author =. 2024 , publisher=
2024
-
[49]
From Words to Watts: Benchmarking the Energy Costs of Large Language Model Inference , author =. 2023. 2023 , organization =
2023
-
[50]
Towards Greener
Stojkovic, Jovan and Choukse, Esha and Zhang, Chaojie and Goiri, Inigo and Torrellas, Josep , journal =. Towards Greener. 2024 , note =
2024
-
[51]
Stojkovic, Jovan and Zhang, Chaojie and Goiri,. 2025. 2025 , organization =
2025
-
[52]
Offline Energy-Optimal
Wilkins, Grant and Keshav, Srinivasan and Mortier, Richard , journal =. Offline Energy-Optimal. 2024 , publisher=
2024
-
[53]
Hybrid Heterogeneous Clusters Can Lower the Energy Consumption of
Wilkins, Grant and Keshav, Srinivasan and Mortier, Richard , booktitle =. Hybrid Heterogeneous Clusters Can Lower the Energy Consumption of
-
[54]
2024 , publisher=
Towards Sustainable Large Language Model Serving , author =. 2024 , publisher=
2024
-
[55]
Optimizing
Hisaharo, Soka and Nishimura, Yuki and Takahashi, Aoi , journal =. Optimizing. 2024 , note =
2024
-
[56]
2024 , note =
Fu, Zhenxiao and Chen, Fan and Zhou, Shan and Li, Haitong and Jiang, Lei , journal =. 2024 , note =
2024
- [57]
-
[58]
arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.14848 , year =
Same Task, More Tokens: The Impact of Input Length on the Reasoning Performance of Large Language Models , author =. arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.14848 , year =
-
[59]
Sprout: Green Generative
Li, Baolin and Jiang, Yankai and Gadepally, Vijay and Tiwari, Devesh , booktitle =. Sprout: Green Generative
-
[60]
Towards Carbon-Efficient
Li, Yueying Lisa and Graif, Omer and Gupta, Udit , booktitle =. Towards Carbon-Efficient
-
[61]
arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.05899 , year =
Prompt Engineering and Its Implications on the Energy Consumption of Large Language Models , author =. arXiv preprint arXiv:2501.05899 , year =
-
[62]
Nik, Alireza and Riegler, Michael A. and Halvorsen, P. Energy-Conscious. arXiv preprint arXiv:2502.11723 , year =
-
[63]
2025 , note =
Solovyeva, Lola and Weidmann, Sophie and Castor, Fernando , journal =. 2025 , note =
2025
-
[64]
2025 , publisher =
Solovyeva, Lola and Weidmann, Sophie and Castor, Fernando , booktitle =. 2025 , publisher =
2025
-
[65]
arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.10666 , year =
Green Prompting , author =. arXiv preprint arXiv:2503.10666 , year =
-
[66]
How Hungry Is
Jegham, Nidhal and Abdelatti, Marwan and Elmoubarki, Lassad and Hendawi, Abdeltawab , journal =. How Hungry Is. 2025 , note =
2025
-
[67]
arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.17674 , year =
Energy Considerations of Large Language Model Inference and Efficiency Optimizations , author =. arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.17674 , year =
-
[68]
Towards Sustainable
Poddar, Soham and Koley, Paramita and Misra, Janardan and Podder, Sanjay and Ganguly, Niloy and Ghosh, Saptarshi , journal =. Towards Sustainable. 2025 , note =
2025
-
[69]
Prompt-Gaming: A Pilot Study on
Isaza-Giraldo, Andr. Prompt-Gaming: A Pilot Study on. Extended Abstracts of the
-
[70]
Walters, Jane and Nair, Atira and Mastronardi, Paolo and Li, Alyssa and Bai, Xue , booktitle =
-
[71]
Environmental Education Research , volume =
Mind the Gap: Why Do People Act Environmentally and What Are the Barriers to Pro-Environmental Behavior? , author =. Environmental Education Research , volume =. 2002 , publisher=
2002
-
[72]
Ecological Economics , volume =
Experimental Evidence of an Environmental Attitude--Behavior Gap in High-Cost Situations , author =. Ecological Economics , volume =. 2019 , publisher=
2019
-
[73]
Environmental Science & Policy , volume =
Bridging the Knowledge--Action Gap: A Framework for Co-Producing Actionable Knowledge , author =. Environmental Science & Policy , volume =. 2024 , publisher=
2024
-
[74]
Trends in Cognitive Sciences , volume =
Perception and Misperception of Bias in Human Judgment , author =. Trends in Cognitive Sciences , volume =. 2007 , publisher=
2007
-
[75]
Journal of Consumer Research , volume =
Consumer Preference for a No-Choice Option , author =. Journal of Consumer Research , volume =. 1997 , publisher=
1997
-
[76]
Journal of Consumer Research , volume =
Choosing to Avoid: Coping with Negatively Emotion-Laden Consumer Decisions , author =. Journal of Consumer Research , volume =. 1998 , publisher=
1998
-
[77]
Psychological Science , volume =
Choice under Conflict: The Dynamics of Deferred Decision , author =. Psychological Science , volume =. 1992 , publisher=
1992
-
[78]
Laschke, Matthias and Diefenbach, Sarah and Hassenzahl, Marc , journal =
-
[79]
2014 , publisher =
Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods: Integrating Theory and Practice , author =. 2014 , publisher =
2014
-
[80]
International Journal of Design , volume =
Understanding the Attributes of Product Intervention for the Promotion of Pro-Environmental Behavior: A Framework and Its Effect on Immediate User Reactions , author =. International Journal of Design , volume =
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.