Why couldn't ChatGPT say 'David Mayer'? OpenAI clarifies the mystery
What's the story
The internet was abuzz recently when users discovered that ChatGPT, the popular chatbot by OpenAI, couldn't process the name "David Mayer."
Users claimed that the AI either froze mid-sentence, showed an error message, or simply didn't respond when quizzed about the specific name.
This bizarre behavior triggered a wave of theories trying to solve the mystery of David Mayer and his apparent invisibility on ChatGPT.
Now, OpenAI has shed light on the mystery, revealing it was simply a technical error.
User theories
Theories and speculations surrounding the 'David Mayer' glitch
The online community came up with several theories to explain ChatGPT's behavior.
Some proposed that Mayer could be a regular person who exercised his "right to be forgotten," a law in the UK and EU that enables people to delete their personal data from the internet.
Others speculated about possible ties to powerful people, including members of the famous Mayer de Rothschild family.
However, these theories were swiftly dismissed as baseless speculation.
Official explanation
OpenAI clarifies the 'David Mayer' glitch
Now, OpenAI, the developer behind ChatGPT, has clarified that the issue is neither related to GDPR nor personal data removal requests.
It was a "glitch" caused by an internal tool that erroneously flagged Mayer's name.
This explanation puts to rest all previous speculations and confirms that the incident was indeed a technical error within their system.
AI challenges
ChatGPT's glitches: A common occurrence in AI development
ChatGPT isn't new to glitches. From struggling with sarcasm to getting dates wrong, and making false claims, ChatGPT has done it all.
OpenAI calls them growing pains—problems that occur as the system learns from a huge dataset.
This isn't exclusive to ChatGPT either. Other AI tools have also made public blunders. Google's AI search summaries once recommended using glue on pizza as a top culinary hack.