News/ChatGPT
OpenAI’s support bot hallucinates non-existent ChatGPT bug reporting features
OpenAI's automated customer support bot has been caught hallucinating features that don't exist in the ChatGPT app, including falsely claiming users can report bugs directly within the application. The incident highlights significant gaps in AI-powered customer service and raises questions about the reliability of companies using their own AI tools for user support. What you should know: A ZDNET investigation revealed that OpenAI's support bot consistently provided incorrect information about ChatGPT's functionality when asked about reporting a bug. The bot repeatedly suggested users could "report this bug directly from within the ChatGPT app (usually under Account or Support > Report...
read Oct 16, 2025Tesla’s ex-AI chief releases $100 DIY ChatGPT-ish toolkit
AI luminary Andrej Karpathy, former director of AI at Tesla and OpenAI co-founder, has released nanochat—a comprehensive toolkit that lets anyone build their own ChatGPT-like AI assistant for approximately $100. Released on October 13, 2025, this open-source project represents the most accessible path yet for creating a functional large language model (LLM) from scratch. Unlike previous AI-building tools that required extensive technical expertise or substantial financial investment, nanochat provides a complete "full-stack" solution. This means it handles every step of the AI creation process, from initial data processing to deploying a web interface where users can chat with their custom...
read Oct 16, 2025ChatGPT’s image generator finally accurately depicts people with disabilities
Jess Smith, a former Australian Paralympic swimmer, discovered that ChatGPT's AI image generator could finally create accurate images of people with disabilities like herself—something it couldn't do just months earlier. Her experience highlights how AI systems are gradually improving their representation of disabled people, though significant gaps remain that reflect broader societal biases and exclusion. What you should know: Smith's initial attempts to generate an image of herself missing her left arm below the elbow resulted in AI creating images with two arms or prosthetic devices instead.• When she asked ChatGPT why it struggled, the AI explained it lacked sufficient...
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The risky trend of recommending AI chatbots for serious mental health issues
People are increasingly recommending that their loved ones use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini for mental health therapy instead of seeking human therapists. This emerging trend reflects both the accessibility of AI-powered mental health support and growing barriers to traditional therapy, though it raises significant questions about the effectiveness and safety of replacing human therapeutic relationships with artificial intelligence. What's driving this shift: Several factors make AI therapy appealing as a recommendation for struggling loved ones. Cost barriers often make human therapists prohibitively expensive, while most major AI platforms are free or low-cost. AI provides 24/7 availability without...
read Oct 14, 2025Shop, talk: Walmart partners with OpenAI to enable ChatGPT conversational purchases
Walmart has partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its shopping experience, allowing customers to purchase items through AI-powered conversations. The collaboration represents a significant shift from traditional search-and-browse e-commerce toward conversational shopping, as America's largest retailer seeks to leverage artificial intelligence to streamline customer interactions and reduce purchase friction. What you should know: Walmart is deploying ChatGPT technology to create a more seamless shopping experience that moves beyond conventional search bars and product lists. The partnership will enable customers to buy items through OpenAI's chatbot services, though Walmart has not specified an exact launch date beyond "soon." CEO Doug...
read Oct 14, 2025OpenAI relaxes ChatGPT restrictions to allow “erotic” adult content for verified users
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT will begin generating "erotica for adults" starting in December, marking a significant shift from the chatbot's previously restrictive content policies. This change comes as part of OpenAI's broader effort to relax ChatGPT's limitations for adult users while implementing new age-verification safeguards to protect minors. What you should know: OpenAI is rolling out these changes in phases, starting with personality enhancements before introducing adult content generation.• A new version of ChatGPT with more personality features—including human-like responses, emoji, and friend-like role-playing—will be released first.• The erotica generation capability will follow in December once "age-gating...
read Oct 14, 2025OpenAI research shows ChatGPT reduces political bias if not inaccuracy
OpenAI has released a new research paper revealing its efforts to reduce political "bias" in ChatGPT, but the company's approach focuses more on preventing the AI from validating users' political views than on achieving true objectivity. The research shows that OpenAI's latest GPT-5 models demonstrate 30 percent less bias than previous versions, with less than 0.01 percent of production responses showing signs of political bias according to the company's measurements. What you should know: OpenAI's definition of "bias" centers on behavioral modification rather than factual accuracy or truth-seeking. The company measures five specific behaviors: personal political expression, user escalation, asymmetric...
read Oct 14, 2025Salesforce partners with OpenAI and Stripe for conversational commerce
Salesforce announced two major AI collaborations on Tuesday, partnering with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT directly into its customer relationship management (CRM) platform and working with both OpenAI and Stripe to enable conversational commerce through its Agentforce platform. These partnerships position Salesforce to deliver enterprise-grade AI capabilities that mirror consumer experiences while accelerating the shift toward autonomous digital commerce. What you should know: The OpenAI partnership brings ChatGPT functionality directly into Salesforce's customer relationship management system, allowing businesses to query sales records and build visualizations without leaving their workflow. Companies can access their sales data, review customer conversations, and create Tableau...
read Oct 14, 2025Etsy sellers can now do business through ChatGPT as concern over being seen by customers grows
Etsy has launched a new ChatGPT integration allowing U.S. buyers to purchase products directly through OpenAI's platform without visiting Etsy's website. The partnership represents a significant shift in AI-powered commerce, but seller reactions remain divided as many worry about losing customer relationships and personalized connections that define their handmade businesses. What you should know: The integration is currently limited to sellers participating in Etsy's Offsite Ads program, which automatically enrolls most merchants but allows some to opt out. Only products from Offsite Ads participants can be purchased directly through ChatGPT, while others display a "visit" button redirecting to Etsy's main...
read Oct 13, 2025ChatGPT logs help convict man in deadly LA Palisades Fire case
Federal prosecutors have charged Jonathan Rinderknecht with starting the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, citing his ChatGPT conversation history as key evidence in what experts call one of the first US cases where AI chatbot logs carry significant evidentiary weight. The case establishes a new category of digital evidence that could reshape how investigators approach criminal cases involving AI-generated content. What you should know: Prosecutors obtained ChatGPT logs showing Rinderknecht generated images of burning cities and sought advice about fire-related liability during his 911 call. Acting US Attorney Bill Essayli revealed that Rinderknecht created multiple versions of images depicting "a...
read Oct 9, 2025AI “slop” is a huge hit: OpenAI’s Sora app achieves 1M downloads in 5 days
OpenAI's Sora app has hit over one million downloads in less than five days, surpassing ChatGPT's initial adoption rate despite being limited to North America and requiring invites for actual usage. The TikTok-style AI video platform represents OpenAI's ambitious bet on AI-generated content, though it's already facing significant copyright and content moderation challenges that could determine its long-term viability. What you should know: Sora functions as a social network built entirely around AI-generated videos, offering users an endless vertical feed similar to TikTok's interface. Users can create 10-second videos simply by writing text prompts to OpenAI's Sora 2 model within...
read Oct 9, 2025Pacific Palisades arsonist’s enjoyment of ChatGPT helped lead to his arrest
Jonathan Rinderknecht, the man arrested for allegedly starting the devastating Pacific Palisades fire that killed 12 people and destroyed over 6,000 homes, was identified partly through a disturbing AI-generated image he created with ChatGPT. The image, described as a "dystopian painting" depicting class warfare amid a fire, provided investigators with crucial evidence linking him to the January blaze that caused billions in damage and forced the Getty Villa museum to close for four months. Key details: Rinderknecht allegedly started a smaller fire on New Year's Day that reignited on January 7 when high winds stirred up remaining embers.• Authorities discovered...
read Oct 7, 2025OpenAI launches AgentKit to transform ChatGPT into AI development platform
OpenAI has launched AgentKit, a comprehensive toolkit that enables developers and business users to build, deploy, and manage AI agents directly within chat interfaces. The October 6 release positions OpenAI as a platform leader in the rapidly expanding agentic AI market, potentially creating an "agent store" ecosystem similar to Apple's App Store model. What you should know: AgentKit comprises three core components designed to streamline multi-agent workflow creation and deployment. Agent Builder serves as a canvas for creating and versioning multi-agent workflows. Connector Registry functions as a centralized hub where administrators can manage tool and data connections across OpenAI products....
read Oct 6, 2025Parents use AI chatbots to entertain kids for hours—experts warn of risks
Parents are increasingly using AI chatbots like ChatGPT's Voice Mode to entertain their young children, sometimes for hours at a time, raising significant concerns about the psychological impact on developing minds. This trend represents a new frontier in digital parenting that experts warn could create false relationships and developmental risks far more complex than traditional screen time concerns. What's happening: Several parents have discovered their preschoolers will engage with AI chatbots for extended periods, creating unexpectedly lengthy conversations. Reddit user Josh gave his four-year-old access to ChatGPT to discuss Thomas the Tank Engine, returning two hours later to find a...
read Oct 6, 2025ChatGPT now connects to Spotify, Zillow, and 5 other apps directly
OpenAI has launched app integrations for ChatGPT that allow users to access third-party services like Spotify and Zillow directly within the chatbot interface. The feature represents what OpenAI calls an "evolution of ChatGPT" toward becoming more like an operating system, enabling users to interact with apps through conversation while displaying interactive interfaces within the chat. What you should know: The app integrations go beyond traditional plugins by allowing direct access within ChatGPT prompts and displaying interactive elements like maps, playlists, and presentations. Users can query ChatGPT to access Spotify for listing and playing tracks, or search Zillow for property listings...
read Oct 3, 2025RAG and vector search bridge enterprise AI adoption gap, suggests research
New research from MIT highlights a critical gap in enterprise AI adoption, revealing that while over 80% of organizations use general-purpose AI tools like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, these focus primarily on individual productivity rather than driving organization-wide transformation. The study identifies retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and vector search as essential technologies for bridging this divide, enabling businesses to create contextually-aware AI systems that leverage proprietary data for more accurate, relevant outputs. The big picture: Enterprise AI adoption faces significant challenges despite widespread use of consumer AI tools, with MIT's Nanda Project attributing failures to "brittle workflows, lack of contextual learning...
read Oct 3, 2025Business travelers on blast: Employees use AI chatbots to create fake expense receipts
Employees are increasingly using AI chatbots to create fake expense receipts for fraudulent reimbursements, exploiting easily accessible tools like ChatGPT to generate authentic-looking restaurant, hotel, and transportation bills. This emerging form of workplace fraud is becoming harder to detect as AI-generated receipts become more sophisticated, forcing some companies to revert to paper-based systems while others invest in new AI-powered detection tools. The scope of the problem: A recent PYMNTS study found that 68% of organizations encountered at least one fraud attempt through their accounts payable services, including fake employee receipt submissions. The practice involves using free online chatbots to create...
read Oct 3, 2025Email AI recommendation engines launched in 1994, 30 years before ChatGPT
The first AI recommendation engines launched in 1994 through email, predating modern AI by three decades and using crowdsourced human preferences to help users discover music, movies, and news. These early systems like Ringo, SIFT, and Bellcore's movie recommender relied on "social filtering"—the principle that people with similar past preferences would likely agree on future choices—and operated entirely through email interfaces that users came to trust as intelligent agents. The big picture: Before Spotify algorithms or Netflix suggestions, email-based AI systems were already solving information overload by harnessing collective human wisdom to make personalized recommendations. How it started: MIT researchers...
read Oct 1, 2025No new tale to tell? Yale study fails to find AI job disruption 33 months after ChatGPT
A new Yale University study finds that generative AI has not yet caused significant disruption to the US labor market, despite widespread fears about job displacement since ChatGPT's launch in 2022. The research challenges concerns that AI automation would rapidly erode demand for cognitive work, though researchers caution that AI adoption remains in its early stages and future impacts could still emerge. What you should know: The study measured changes in worker distribution across all jobs since ChatGPT's public release 33 months ago to test claims about AI's workforce impact. Researchers found no discernible disruption in the broader labor market,...
read Oct 1, 2025Mac strikes back as Apple files motion to dismiss xAI’s antitrust lawsuit over OpenAI partnership
Apple has filed a motion to dismiss xAI's antitrust lawsuit that alleges the tech giant stifled AI competition through its OpenAI partnership and App Store practices. The legal battle stems from Elon Musk's August accusations that Apple's ChatGPT integration created unfair advantages in app rankings, preventing rival AI companies from reaching the top spot. Apple's defense strategy: The company argues that xAI's lawsuit would require partnerships with "every other generative AI chatbot – regardless of quality, privacy or safety considerations, technical feasibility, stage of development, or commercial terms." Apple's lawyers describe the antitrust claims as "speculation on top of speculation"...
read Oct 1, 2025Only 9% of Americans regularly get news from AI chatbots, reveals Pew survey
A new Pew Research Center survey reveals that only 9% of U.S. adults regularly get news from AI chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini, with just 2% doing so often and 7% sometimes. The findings suggest that despite growing chatbot adoption, these AI tools have not yet established themselves as mainstream news sources, with 75% of Americans never using them for news consumption. What you should know: The majority of Americans remain skeptical about using AI chatbots as news sources, preferring traditional media outlets.• About 16% of adults use chatbots rarely for news, while three-quarters never do so at all.• Fewer...
read Sep 29, 2025AI bilingual platform helps Hispanic homebuyers navigate mortgage barriers
The nonprofit Hispanic Organization of Mortgage Experts (HOME) has launched a bilingual AI platform that helps loan officers navigate mortgage requirements for Hispanic homebuyers who face language barriers and non-traditional financial situations. The ChatGPT-powered system addresses critical gaps in homeownership access as federal housing agencies shift to English-only services under the Trump administration's push to make English the official U.S. language. What you should know: The AI platform streamlines mortgage applications for buyers who traditionally struggle with the homebuying process. HOME's Wholesale Search system lets loan officers quickly compare requirements from more than 150 lenders instead of contacting them individually....
read Sep 29, 2025ChatGPT gets parental controls requiring teen and parent approval
OpenAI has launched parental controls for ChatGPT, marking a significant step toward making artificial intelligence safer for younger users. The new feature addresses a longstanding gap in AI safety: while ChatGPT has maintained a minimum age requirement of 13, parents previously had no way to monitor or limit how their teenagers used the popular AI assistant. The timing reflects growing concerns about AI's impact on young people, particularly as chatbots become increasingly sophisticated and integrated into daily life. These controls offer families a structured approach to AI interaction, balancing teenage independence with parental oversight in an emerging digital landscape. How...
read Sep 26, 2025ChatGPT transforms Excel analysis with 5 practical methods
Excel remains the backbone of business data analysis, but artificial intelligence is transforming how professionals extract insights from spreadsheets. ChatGPT, OpenAI's conversational AI assistant, can now help users analyze Excel data without requiring advanced formula knowledge or statistical expertise. This shift matters because traditional Excel analysis often demands hours of manual formula creation and data manipulation. ChatGPT can interpret natural language requests, suggest relevant formulas, and even process uploaded datasets directly. However, this convenience comes with important limitations that business users must understand. Here's a comprehensive guide to leveraging ChatGPT for Excel data analysis, including five practical methods and critical...
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