ChatGPT accesses users by name without a request
By ForGeeks Some ChatGPT users have recently noticed a strange phenomenon: sometimes the chatbot addresses them by name. Previously, this was not standard behavior, and several users claim that ChatGPT mentions their names even though they never told it what to call them.
The feedback has been mixed. A cursory search of the X platform reveals many users confused and wary of ChatGPT’s name-based behavior.
It’s unclear when exactly this change occurred and whether it’s related to ChatGPT’s updated “memory” feature, which allows the chatbot to use past chats to personalize its responses. Some X users claim that ChatGPT started calling them by name even after disabling memory and its associated personalization settings.
A number of users claim that ChatGPT started calling them by name even after disabling memory and its associated personalization settings.
Either way, this reaction illustrates the uncanny valley that OpenAI may be struggling to overcome in its efforts to make ChatGPT more “personal” to users. Last week, the company’s CEO Sam Altman hinted at AI systems that “get to know you over the course of your life” to become “extremely useful and personalized.” Judging by the latest feedback, however, not everyone is thrilled with the idea.
A paper from the psychiatry department of The Valens Clinic in Dubai may shed light on instinctive reactions to ChatGPT’s use of the name. Names convey intimacy. But when a person – or chatbot – frequently uses the name of an interlocutor, it can be perceived as inauthentic.
An article from The Valens Clinic in Dubai may shed light on the instinctive reactions to the use of names.
Perhaps another reason many users are reluctant to see their name in ChatGPT responses is that it seems clumsy – an attempt to humanize an emotionless bot.
