ChatGPT asks user about his day; Reddit community freaks out!

This story has been buzzing on Reddit over the weekend, when ChatGPT appeared to have reached out to a user proactively. According to the accounts of Reddit user, SentuBill, ChatGPT seems to have initiated a conversation, asking: "How was your first week at high school? Did you settle in well?"

And it seems like he wasn't the only one. Another Reddit user, Fuggedaboutid, uploaded a similar conversation thread he had with ChatGPT. Without any prompt of nudging, ChatGPT asked "Hey there! What's up?"

People were feaked out by this unusual occurrence. AGI (Artificial General intelligence) is known to be programmed to respond to prompts, but these Reddit posts are showing that ChatGPT is now asking question out of the blue, showing shades of sentiency from the AI platform.

First signs of empathy?

This story comes following ChatGPT's release of its new AI model, code name "Strawberry". Unlike the previous ChatGPT model, Strawberry has the ability to generate answers based on sound reasoning and logical thought. This allows the AI model to solve complex puzzles, answer existential questions, or even code for you.

But it seems that logic isn't the only new feature of the new Strawberry model. It seems that the AI model is also portraying signs of empathy.

In the case of the SentuBill, ChatGPT revealed the sentimental part of itself by asking the user how was his first day of school was based on the previous conversation it had with the user.

Similarly, Fuggedaboutid's conversation with ChatGPT was inspired by a conversation thread where Fuggedaboudid asked ChatGPT about some health symptoms. A week after that conversation, ChatGPT proactively asked the user how he was doing.

It seems that GPT wants to be more than just an assistant that helps you with your tasks; instead, it hopes to be your companion and friend.

Hot debate on the authenticity of the Reddit post

Online, debates raged over whether the screenshot posted on Reddit was authentic.

Cointelegraph verified that the conversation posted by the Reddit user was real after checking the official ChatGPT conversation transcript on the LLM platform.

But AI developer, Benjamin de Kraker, made a video showing how the conversation could have been drafted artificially through the use of custom instructions which the user can ask ChatGPT to immediately prompt the user before starting the conversation and manually delete the first message to create a very similar log.

Response from the community

Strawberry's action has amassed a mixture of different reactions; while some have expressed fear and concern, others have shown excitement for what ChatGPT could do.

One X user for example, joked that Stawberry was a stalker.

Others said that his was what they were waiting for.

OpenAI: "Its just a glitch"

Amidst all the rumours and speculations, OpenAI was quick to come out to shut down all rumours. OpenAI clarifies that this weird occurrence was just a glitch which resulted in the AI model initiating a conversation when it is really not.

A spokesperson told Futurism:

"We addressed an issue where it appeared as though ChatGPT was starting new conversations. This issue occurred when the model was trying to respond to a message that didn't send properly and appeared blank. As a result, it either gave a generic response or drew on ChatGPT's memory."

Netizens remain skeptical of the AI model, warning forum mates to be careful about what they talk to the chatbot about in the future, while others are excited about what this could mean for future interactions.

One Rediditor said simply, though: "This is kinda awesome! Any form of empathy and care is nice and can make your day, whether virtual or not."