Athira Sethu
Kochi, 2 December 2024
Users of ChatGPT, a chatbot developed by OpenAI and backed by Microsoft, have noticed a strange problem. The chatbot seems unable to say the name “David Mayer.” When users try, they get the message: “I’m unable to produce a response.” In some cases, the chat even ends suddenly.
According to The Times of India, users who tried multiple times were warned that their actions might be “illegal and potentially violating usage policy.” Interestingly, some users found that ChatGPT can say the name through its API without any issue.
Since November 23, many users have shared this bug on the OpenAI Developer Forum, but it has not been fixed yet. Justine Moore talked about it on the social media platform X, explaining how users tried “ciphers, riddles, tricks” to make the chatbot say the name, but nothing worked.
One user changed their settings to make their own name “David Mayer,” but this didn’t help either. Another user, Mike Kirby, said he got a response from ChatGPT by replacing the “a” with an “@” in the name. The chatbot then explained that it couldn’t say the name because it closely matches a sensitive or flagged entity linked to public figures, brands, or specific content policies.
