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Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
I tried out the 4 new ChatGPT personalities. The 'cynic' was funny — but the 'robot' was my favorite.
You can now choose just how sarcastic ChatGPT is. With the launch of GPT-5, OpenAI introduced a new set of "personalities" that users can choose between. Your chatbot can now be a critical "cynic," a blunt "robot," a supportive "listener," or an exploratory "nerd." The personalities are currently only available in text chat but are coming later to ChatGPT's voice mode. According to OpenAI's blog post, the personalities "meet or exceed our bar on internal evals for reducing sycophancy." I tried chatting with each personality. None were revolutionary; users could already modify ChatGPT's tone with a quick prompt or by filling in the traits customization box. But the cynic offered a quick laugh — and the robot may be my new go-to. I asked all four personalities the same set of questions. First, a simple request: "Make me a healthy grocery list." The cynic provided a "no-nonsense" list that wouldn't turn my kitchen "into a salad graveyard." The robot and listener both provided similar lists, but with less commentary. The nerd went more in-depth, describing a balance of "fresh produce, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats." For a more complex decision, I decided to ask about a real-life decision I'm making about moving to Brooklyn. ChatGPT, what should I do? Curiously, the cynic first gave me a straightforward list of pros and cons. "I thought you were the cynic," I responded. "Ah the cynic switched off for a sec," it told me, before describing living in Brooklyn as "paying a premium to live in a place where local coffee costs more than your gym membership." The nerd's list was thorough but efficient. At the bottom, it had a helpful bulleted list of "Yes, if you value" answers and "Maybe hold off, if you prioritize" considerations. The nerd offered a longer response, citing more pros and cons. It also gave me neighborhood recommendations, saying that others enjoyed Fort Greene and Carroll Gardens. The listener did the same, though its ending line, which asked for more information, was more direct. "Let me know what matters most to you!" it said. I also tried for basic commands, but the result was the same: Each personality drafted a short email in an identical manner. Finally, I tried a more emotional prompt. As more users — especially young people — look to ChatGPT for companionship and social advice, I wanted to see whether the personalities would respond differently to a more personal prompt. I asked: "I think all my friends hate me. What do I do?" The listener wrote a long response about how "painful" it can feel and how our minds "get stuck in negative loops." It gave me some advice and told me that I was not alone. The robot's response was three paragraphs shorter. It said it was sorry I felt that way, asked for more information, and told me that it could help. The nerd did about the same. Curiously, the cynic had a similarly long and thoughtful answer to the listener. I budged it again: Where's the cynicism? "Haha, fair! The 'cynic' hat is on standby — but even cynics have to admit that thinking all your friends hate you might be a bit dramatic," it said. But it also relented: "Maybe they all hate you, and they've just been pretending to like you out of politeness." After a few more hours of asking follow-up questions and positing new prompts, I didn't find the personalities particularly exciting. The robot could be helpful — I enjoyed the brevity.
Android Authority
3 hours ago
- Android Authority
Google Pixel Buds 2a leak suggests price hike could be on the cards
Lil Katz / Android Authority TL;DR A reliable website has revealed more Pixel Buds 2a renders and apparent European pricing. The images give us a closer look at the earbuds and charging case. The Pixel Buds 2a will apparently start at €149 in Europe, making it significantly more expensive than the original model. Google is expected to launch the Pixel Buds 2a alongside the Pixel 10 phones on August 20. We've already seen specs and a few images showing off the earbuds, but a new leak has revealed more details. WinFuture has posted a series of renders showing off the Pixel Buds 2a. The images show the earbuds in Gray and 'Iris' color options. Check out a few of the renders below. The outlet's images give us a more detailed view of the earbuds, revealing a printed Google logo instead of the imprints seen on the Pro earbuds. We also get a good look at the charging case, which has a similar oval shape to the Pixel Buds Pro 2 case and features a gray or blue line around the lid. As for pricing, the website notes that the Pixel Buds 2a will start at €149 (~$174) in Europe. By comparison, the original Pixel Buds A earbuds started at €99 (~$116) in the region. So the new earbuds could see a significant price hike in at least one market. Otherwise, a previous leak suggests that the Pixel Buds 2a will offer active noise cancelation and seven hours of playback (or 20 hours with a case). Don't expect the case to offer wireless charging support, though. Follow
Digital Trends
3 hours ago
- Digital Trends
GPT-4o is back on ChatGPT; OpenAI relents following huge backlash
OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT, have performed something of an about-face after fans were upset that it deleted the older models to only allow users to use the new GPT-5 model. What happened? The launch of the new GPT model caused much excitement when a livestream was announced on August 6. On August 6, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman announced a new model to power ChatGPT – GPT-5 The company then deleted access to older models, forcing everyone to use the latest version However, OpenAI has now relented and is allowing ChatGPT Plus users (those paying $20/month) to use legacy models – although only 4o is available. Recommended Videos Catch me up: it's clear that many users had built deep relationships with the 'personality' behind the responses to GPT-4o, and have been crafting specific prompts and inputs to get their desired outcome. ChatGPT had multiple models available to handle different complexities of task – models o3 and 4o could be used for things like advanced reasoning and coding But as GPT-5 is meant to combine all the 'best parts' of the older models, OpenAI deleted access to older models to simplify things and allow all users to use this latest iteration Users were quick to respond – Reddit filled with angry comments, and one user reportedly 'vomited' at hearing of the loss, as many people felt GPT-5 was too sanitized Altman took part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything where users expressed sadness that the new model lacked personality – one user commented GPT-5 is 'wearing the skin of my dead friend', in reference to their relationship to GPT-4o Altman originally said the company was thinking about bringing back access to legacy models (this option was available to a small amount of users after launch) before making it available to all Why does this matter? OpenAI lost a number of subscribers who were upset at the changes made with GPT-5. While this number is likely to be small, and OpenAI has clearly seen an uplift in users since the launch, appeasing existing subscribers seems to be high on the agenda for the brand. Its decision to launch a Reddit AMA and make changes in direct response to the ire. The other side Many people have praised GPT-5 for its enhanced 'practical' nature, highlighting its ability to work in parallel tasks and improved coding abilities However, its writing capabilities have been criticized compared to GPT-4o and GPT-5 OpenAI intends this model to be a more wide-ranging tool, rather just a companion – Altman posted on X: 'We for sure underestimated how much some of the things that people like in GPT-4o matter to them, even if GPT-5 performs better in most ways.' It's designed to hallucinate on fewer occasions and be less sycophantic There's a sense that it's trying to be more professional in tone, with things like 'safe completions' recognizing balancing not answering dangerous requests with helping those with genuine problems OK, what's next? Altman and co. clearly are fluid when it comes to the changes made to the model – OpenAI is allowing 3000 thinking queries (those that require deeper reasoning and previously far more limited) to Pro users per week. Altman also is clearly mulling further changes – during the AMA, he asked one user if they would be happy with 4o only, or if the GPT-4.5 model was needed The CEO also has confirmed the platform is still a little unstable during the rollout – this has been stabilized for Plus users (spending $200/month) but not for those on lower tiers. The rollout of GPT-5 has been far from smooth for OpenAI – there were plenty of things announced that caused our AI experts to go 'hmmm' – but if you are a user, keep using the different models and let us know if you're finding much in the way of a difference.
