Although it can help start a business, act as a personal tutorand even bake Instagram profilesChatGPT has its limits. For example, ask him to tell you about David Faber. Or just ask who Jonathan Turley is.

These names, plus a few others, will cause ChatGPT to issue an error message: “Unable to provide a response.” The user is not able to write another request to continue the conversation; the only option left is to regenerate the response, which gives the error again.

^{Screen view. Search: Tell me about Brian Hood.}

ChatGPT users discovered over the weekend that certain words can break the AI ​​chatbot or cause it to stop working. The trend started with the name “David Mayer”, which ChatGPT users use Reddit AND X with a flag.

404 Media found that the names “Jonathan Zittrain,” which refers to a Harvard law professor, and “Jonathan Turley,” which is the name of a George Washington University law professor, also caused ChatGPT to stop working.

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Ars Technica pointed out that “Brian Hoodthe name of an Australian mayor,David Faber“, which may refer to a CNBC reporter, and “Guido Scorza“, which is the name of an Italian lawyer, all gave error messages.

ChatGPT refuses to say the name “David Mayer” and no one knows why.

If you try to force him to write the name, the conversation ends immediately.

People have tried all kinds of things – numbers, riddles, tricks – and nothing works. pic.twitter.com/om6lJdMSTp

— Justine Moore (@venturetwins) November 30, 2024

As of this writing, ChatGPT no longer produces an error message when asked about David Mayer, and instead gives the general answer, “David Mayer may refer to several individuals, as the name is relatively common. Without further context , it is unclear whether you are asking about a specific person in a field such as academia, entertainment, business, or another field.Can you provide more details or clarify the area of ​​interest regarding David Mayer?

However, for the other names – Brian Hood, Jonathan Turley, Jonathan Zittrain, David Faber and Guido Scorza – ChatGPT consistently produces an error message.

^{Screen view. Search: Who is Jonathan Turley?}

It is unclear why these specific names cause the AI ​​bot to malfunction and to what effect.

Ars Technica theorized the fact that ChatGPT is unable to process certain names opens up new ways for attackers to interfere with the AI ​​chatbot's output. For example, one can put a banned name in the text of a website to prevent ChatGPT from accessing it.

Social media users speculated that some blocked names meant that ChatGPT would be heavily monitored and controlled by powerful people. They also found that other AI chatbots, such as Google's Gemini, were able to process names without problems.

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