We dive into the hilariously absurd world of AI quirks, specifically how ChatGPT developed a penchant for discussing goblins—yes, goblins! It turns out that a playful personality option called Nerdy led to a 175% increase in goblin mentions, which is both mind-blowing and amusing. Even after they retired that setting, the goblins just wouldn’t quit, prompting the developers to write code to rein them in. It’s a classic case of smart people struggling with the whims of their own creation, and honestly, I find it pretty funny that we had to tell a machine to stop talking about imaginary creatures unless we bring them up first. Join us as we explore this oddity in the realm of AI and share your thoughts with us at jamesabrown.net!

Links referenced in this episode:

• jamesabrown.net

This is the daily note from jamesabrown.net so apparently ChatGPT picked up a verbal tic after an update.

Mentions of goblins jumped 175%.

The company traced it back to a personality option called Nerdy that rewarded the bot for being playful.

They eventually retired the nerdy setting, but the Goblins kept coming.

So they had to write code telling the bot to never bring up creatures unless somebody asked for them, which I find pretty funny.

Here's the smartest people on the planet, or so they think.

Telling a machine to stop talking about made up creatures unless we ask for them, which we won't stop.

What do you think?

Let me know on jamesabrown.net on that note.

I'm James A.

Brown and as always, be well.