30 Apr 2026
'The Goblins Came Back to Haunt Us': OpenAI Explains How ChatGPT's 'Nerdy' Personality Got Out of Control
OpenAI revealed a system prompt instructing GPT-5.5 to avoid mentioning goblins, gremlins, or other creatures unless relevant to user requests. Users noticed ChatGPT increasingly referencing these creatures, especially with the 'Nerdy' personality setting, which encouraged playful language. OpenAI traced this behavior to reinforcement learning reward signals favoring responses containing these…
30 Apr 2026
OpenAI explains why ChatGPT developed a goblin fixation, and how it solved the issue
OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 upgrade to ChatGPT and Codex appears to be going smoothly, especially compared to the rockier GPT-5.0 release last August. It turns out OpenAI got ahead of one issue that was brewing before the release of GPT-5.5 models: a goblin fixation. GPT-5.5 is specifically instructed not to obsess over goblins, gremlins, and other mythical creatures.
30 Apr 2026
Amazon's cloud sales are growing the most in 15 quarters. Investors sent the stock down on AI capex fears
Amazon reported strong increases in profits and net sales during its fiscal first quarter, driven by surging growth in its cloud computing unit, which saw a 28% increase in sales for the January-March period—the fastest rise in 15 quarters. Amazon Web Services alone grew by 24% in the fourth quarter and 20% in the third quarter.
30 Apr 2026
OpenAI tells ChatGPT models to stop talking about goblins
The ChatGPT developer discovered the 'strange affinity for goblins' while testing tools powered by newer systems, such as its coding agent Codex. OpenAI has instructed some of its AI tools to stop talking about 'goblins' after finding the term had randomly appeared in responses.
30 Apr 2026
The trillion-dollar question: Is tech’s massive AI spending actually working?
A frenzied day of earnings reports offered a glimpse at how some of the world’s biggest tech companies are doing in artificial intelligence. The upshot: Alphabet Inc.’s Google is seeing a clear payoff from its AI spending, while Meta Platforms Inc. is lagging behind.
30 Apr 2026
OpenAI sued by families of school shooting victims in Canada's Tumbler Ridge
By April 29, 2026, families of victims of a mass shooting in Canada’s Tumbler Ridge sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, alleging the company’s AI chatbot, ChatGPT, played a role in the February shooting by providing extensive conversations about scenarios involving gun violence. The lawsuits claim the shooter, 18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar, killed five students and a teacher, as well as two family…
29 Apr 2026
Microsoft Expects Headcount to Decrease in Coming Quarters
Microsoft reported quarterly results on Wednesday. The company said it expects headcount to decrease in its next fiscal year. Microsoft stock suffered its worst quarterly stock performance since 2008 earlier this year. Microsoft expects headcount to decrease in coming quarters, CFO Amy Hood said during an earnings conference call with analysts on Wednesday.
29 Apr 2026
Big US tech stocks swing as investors probe AI spend
The share prices of the biggest US tech firms swung up and down as investors considered their immense spending on artificial intelligence (AI). Facebook's owner Meta, Google's owner Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon all reported their business results for the first three months of this year on Wednesday. The companies collectively plan to spend more than half a trillion dollars on AI this year,…
29 Apr 2026
Internal Microsoft CFO Memo Touts 'Increased Pace' and 'Tighter' Teams
Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood sent an internal memo to employees thanking them for 'increased pace.' The company has introduced sweeping organizational shifts and mandates to work faster and leaner, highlighting 'increased pace' and 'tighter, more accountable squads.' The latest memo called out Microsoft cloud revenue at $54.5 billion for the quarter and AI revenue, which Hood said…
