OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently revealed that a bug allowed some users of its AI chatbot, ChatGPT, to view the conversation titles of other users. Altman disclosed the issue in a tweet, stating that a fix for the bug has been released and validated. According to Altman, only a small percentage of users were affected.
Users started reporting the issue on Monday, with some spotting previously unseen chats in the sidebar, including conversations titled “Xi Jingping’s Six Principles” and “Chinese Socialism Development.” Another user even shared a screenshot on Twitter, showing chat titles from conversations they had never had.
OpenAI temporarily disabled ChatGPT on Monday after hearing about reports of other people’s chat histories being visible. Altman expressed regret over the issue, stating that the company felt awful about it.
The issue has since been resolved, and users will no longer be able to see chat histories for ChatGPT conversations that occurred between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m. Pacific time on March 20, as a result of the fix.
ChatGPT was launched in November 2022 and quickly gained popularity, with users able to generate human-like responses by typing in prompts. The tool has been used for various purposes, such as writing school essays, song lyrics, and even generating lines of code for software.
By January 2023, ChatGPT had amassed 100 million monthly active users, making it the fastest-growing consumer application in history, according to a UBS note published last week. In comparison, it took TikTok nine months to reach 100 million users, while Instagram achieved the same level of popularity after two and a half years.
Despite the issue with the bug, OpenAI’s ChatGPT continues to be a popular tool for generating human-like responses, and its user base is likely to continue to grow. The company has assured users that it is working to prevent similar issues from occurring in the future.
Overall, while the bug was certainly a setback for OpenAI and ChatGPT, it is not likely to have a significant impact on the tool’s long-term success. The company has responded quickly to address the issue, and users can continue to enjoy the benefits of ChatGPT without concern for the privacy of their conversations. As such, OpenAI can expect to continue its rapid growth and expand its user base even further in the coming months and years.