Over the weekend, the name “David Mayer” sparked confusion after users found that ChatGPT refused to acknowledge it. Attempts to input the name led to error messages, with the chatbot responding, “something seems to have gone wrong” or simply stopping after the word “David.” This triggered widespread speculation online, with some suggesting Mayer had requested his name be removed.
OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has clarified that the issue was caused by a system glitch. A spokesperson explained, “One of our tools mistakenly flagged this name and prevented it from appearing in responses. We’re working on a fix.”
Some speculated that the glitch was linked to David Mayer de Rothschild, but he dismissed the idea, saying he had never interacted with ChatGPT. The glitch was also unrelated to the late Professor David Mayer, whose name had previously been misidentified in security lists.
There is also speculation that the incident may relate to Europe’s GDPR privacy rules, which allow users to request deletion of personal data. OpenAI has not confirmed any connection to such requests. While the “David Mayer” issue has been resolved, other names continue to trigger error messages.
Data protection expert Helena Brown noted that removing all personal information tied to an individual in AI tools can be complex, as AI systems gather data from various sources, making full deletion challenging.
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