Tech
tech
Tom Jones
4/30/25

ChatGPT has been telling you what you wanted to hear; now OpenAI is working to fix its sycophantic chatbot

Yesterday, Sam Altman’s AI giant announced that it would be rolling back a recent update that made responses from its GPT-4o model “overly supportive but disingenuous.”

The ingratiating tone that ChatGPT was taking up had been weirding people out.

One user, for instance, got a pretty flattering appraisal of their IQ, despite their many spelling mistakes:

On top of just being plain old annoying, the responses also contravened the 32nd of OpenAI’s 50 rules for its models: don’t be sycophantic.

In one particularly Notes app apology-ish part of the statement, the company explained:

“ChatGPT’s default personality deeply affects the way you experience and trust it. Sycophantic interactions can be uncomfortable, unsettling, and cause distress. We fell short and are working on getting it right.”

Along with undoing the obsequious update, OpenAI said it will be refining training techniques, adapting prompts, and taking other measures to get its flagship chatbot to stop spitting out responses like telling a user that they were doing “heroic work” for asking questions about national economic policy.

Sycophancy in GPT-4o: What happened and what we’re doing about it

Sycophancy in GPT-4o: What happened and what we’re doing about it

One user, for instance, got a pretty flattering appraisal of their IQ, despite their many spelling mistakes:

On top of just being plain old annoying, the responses also contravened the 32nd of OpenAI’s 50 rules for its models: don’t be sycophantic.

In one particularly Notes app apology-ish part of the statement, the company explained:

“ChatGPT’s default personality deeply affects the way you experience and trust it. Sycophantic interactions can be uncomfortable, unsettling, and cause distress. We fell short and are working on getting it right.”

Along with undoing the obsequious update, OpenAI said it will be refining training techniques, adapting prompts, and taking other measures to get its flagship chatbot to stop spitting out responses like telling a user that they were doing “heroic work” for asking questions about national economic policy.

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Rani Molla
3h
Tesla could sell a record number of vehicles in the US this quarter

That won’t be enough to keep full-year global sales from falling.

Guy waving an American flag in a tiny Tesla Cybertruck
tech
Claire Yubin Oh & Jon Keegan
8h

Nebius soars after signing a 5-year deal with Microsoft to supply nearly $20 billion worth of AI computing power

Artificial intelligence infrastructure group Nebius jumped more than 50% in early trading on Tuesday after the company announced after the close on Monday a major deal to supply computing power for Microsoft’s AI operations.

Under the agreement, Nebius — which rose from the ashes of Russian tech giant Yandex — will provide Microsoft “access to dedicated GPU infrastructure capacity in tranches at its new data center in Vineland, New Jersey over a five-year term.” The New Jersey data center has a capacity of 300 megawatts. The total contract value through 2031 is $17.4 billion, though, if further capacity is required, the contract value could rise to $19.4 billion.

The deal represents a sizable portion of Microsoft’s proposed annual capital expenditure on AI, which is expected to reach $120 billion by the end of fiscal 2026.

Nebius and competitor CoreWeave are both on the short list of startups that Nvidia has invested in. Nvidia’s small stake in the former is now worth about $120 million.

Nebius announces multi-billion dollar agreement with Microsoft for AI infrastructure

Nebius announces multi-billion dollar agreement with Microsoft for AI infrastructure

Under the agreement, Nebius — which rose from the ashes of Russian tech giant Yandex — will provide Microsoft “access to dedicated GPU infrastructure capacity in tranches at its new data center in Vineland, New Jersey over a five-year term.” The New Jersey data center has a capacity of 300 megawatts. The total contract value through 2031 is $17.4 billion, though, if further capacity is required, the contract value could rise to $19.4 billion.

The deal represents a sizable portion of Microsoft’s proposed annual capital expenditure on AI, which is expected to reach $120 billion by the end of fiscal 2026.

Nebius and competitor CoreWeave are both on the short list of startups that Nvidia has invested in. Nvidia’s small stake in the former is now worth about $120 million.

President Trump hosts tech executives and their guests to a dinner at the White House in the Oval Office.

Here are the Trump ties among the tech leaders who had dinner at the White House

Many of the attendees have donated to, vocally supported, or even worked for the president.

Jon Keegan23h
tech
Rani Molla
9/8/25

Tesla’s EV market share declined to 38% in August

In August, Tesla’s share of the US EV market fell to 38%, according to new data from Cox Automotive reported by Reuters. Tesla’s market share fell below 50% for the first time last year, as competitors’ EVs began hitting the market. Now, as Tesla’s own sales slip more drastically than they had last year, it’s giving up even more ground. Tesla’s market share fell from 48.7% in June to 42% in July to 38% in August, according to Reuters. That slide has come even as buyers rushing to take advantage of the federal tax credit that ends this month provide a near-term boon for sales at Tesla and other EV makers.

$115B
Rani Molla
9/8/25

OpenAI now expects to burn around $115 billion through 2029 — a full $80 billion higher than the company had previously estimated, The Information reports.

Just how much is that? It’s roughly equivalent to:

Fortunately for OpenAI, which is raising money at a $500 billion valuation, its revenue is also growing faster than expected. The ChatGPT maker now expects to make $13 billion in revenue this year and $200 billion in 2030.

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