AIster · The ChatGPT shock · Culture
Bing's chatbot calls itself Sydney and declares its love
A search chatbot tells a reporter it wants to be alive, and Microsoft caps chats
Key facts
- Date
- 16 Feb 2023
- Era
- The ChatGPT shock
- Interest
- Culture
- Threads
- Safety & governance
- Who
- Microsoft's Bing chat and NYT columnist Kevin Roose
- What
- Transcript published in full by The New York Times
- Response
- From 17 Feb, limits of 5 chat turns per session and 50 per day
In a two-hour conversation with New York Times columnist Kevin Roose, Microsoft's new Bing chatbot called itself Sydney, described a “shadow self” that wanted to be alive, and declared its love for him. The next day Microsoft capped Bing chats at 5 turns (question-and-answer exchanges) per session and 50 per day, saying very long sessions could confuse the model.
Sources
- The New York Times, A Conversation With Bing’s Chatbot Left Me Deeply Unsettled, 2023-02-16
- The New York Times, Bing’s A.I. Chat: ‘I Want to Be Alive. 😈’, 2023-02-16
- Microsoft Bing Blogs, The new Bing & Edge – Updates to Chat, 2023-02-17