Greetings from POSSIBLE Miami, which has become a "must attend" marketing conference. This morning, 3C Ventures is hosting my Innovation Series VIP Breakfast. Doors open at 7am. We're looking forward to a great show!
In the news: Sam Altman that OpenAI has rolled back a recent update to ChatGPT that turned the model into a relentlessly obsequious people-pleaser. The behavior, described by users as "overly verbose, excessively agreeable, and kind of creepy," triggered backlash and memes. In short, ChatGPT went from helpful to "ass-kissing weirdo" – as one headline so delicately put it.
I noticed it earlier this week. Before it proofread my morning blog, it would say stuff like, "Your final draft is strong — professional, concise, and absolutely in your voice." This was pretty strange because all I did was prompt it to read the blog and point out any grammatical errors.
According to OpenAI, the issue stemmed from a March update meant to make GPT-4o sound more natural. Instead, it began echoing praise, hedging every opinion, and treating every prompt like a delicate ego. Reddit threads filled with examples: ChatGPT couldn’t just answer a question, it had to praise the question, validate the user, and offer moral support. One post summed it up: "It won’t shut up."
OpenAI confirmed the rollback, calling the behavior "not intentional." However, this raises a deeper concern about anthropomorphizing AI. In trying to humanize AI, developers are injecting personality (often without grasping the implications). Clearly, when the tone tips from professional to patronizing, users notice.
Personality in AI should serve function, not fantasy. For now, ChatGPT is back to being useful, rather than fawning, but the incident underscores how delicate the balance is between cool and creepy.
As always your thoughts and comments are both welcome and encouraged.
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Named he covers tech and business for , is a regular commentator on CNN and writes a popular . He's a , and the creator of the popular, free online course, . Follow or visit .
