Judging by the GPT-4o situation, game developers will have a big problem if they get serious about AI chatbot NPCs

Tyler Wilde, US EIC

(Image credit: Future)

Tyler just wants RAM to be a normal price again, please.

"They think that we are mentally ill," says a ChatGPT user in one of many Reddit threads lamenting OpenAI's decision to retire its GPT-4o chatbot. The replacement model, GPT-5.2, is "abusive," says another. They want their old companion back, but OpenAI isn't budging.

This isn't the first time chatbot users have been distraught over changes to their virtual companions. In 2023,...