Some ChatGPT users have noticed a strange phenomenon recently: Occasionally, the chatbot refers to them by name as it reasons through problems. That wasn’t the default behavior previously, and several users claim ChatGPT is mentioning their names despite never having been told what to call them.
Reviews are mixed. One user, software developer and AI enthusiast Simon Willison, called the feature “creepy and unnecessary.” Another developer, Nick Dobos, said he “hated it.” A cursory search of X turns up scores of users confused by — and wary of — ChatGPT’s first-name basis behavior.
“It’s like a teacher keeps calling my name, LOL,” wrote one user. “Yeah, I don’t like it.”
It’s not clear when, exactly, the change happened, or whether it’s related to ChatGPT’s upgraded “memory” feature that lets the chatbot draw on past chats to personalize its responses. Some users on X say ChatGPT began calling them by their names even though they’d disabled memory and related personalization settings.
OpenAI hasn’t responded to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
In any event, the blowback illustrates the uncanny valley OpenAI might struggle to overcome in its efforts to make ChatGPT more “personal” for the people who use it. Last week, the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, hinted at AI systems that “get to know you over your life” to become “extremely useful and personalized.” But judging by this latest wave of reactions, not everyone’s sold on the idea.
