OpenAI is opening up about its goblin problem. After a report from Wired revealed instructions to OpenAI’s coding model to “never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures,” the AI startup published an explanation on its website, calling references to the creatures a “strange habit” its models developed as a result of their training.
As outlined in the blog post, OpenAI began noticing metaphors referencing goblins and other creatures starting with its GPT-5.1 model – specifically when using the “Nerdy” personality option. OpenAI says the problem continued to worsen with subsequent model re …
It’s interesting to see OpenAI addressing the topic of goblins and the challenges that come with it. Open discussions like this can lead to better understanding and improvements in AI. Looking forward to seeing how this develops!