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Today, we dive into the personality of AI.
Hit reply and let us know what you think (we read all of your words).
Coffee at the ready…
The Big Sip
Image: OpenAI
The take: OpenAI shipped GPT-5.1 with personality controls that let users tune the model's tone like a thermostat.
What happened: OpenAI launched GPT-5.1 on 12 November, adding adaptive reasoning and granular personality controls to ChatGPT for paid users.
Why it matters: Tone shapes influence. Giving users control over AI personality turns ChatGPT from a fixed tool into a platform that adapts how people think, decide, and communicate.
What to watch: The API rollout later this week, when developers decide whether to adopt personality customization as a standard feature across apps.
GPT-5.1 Instant is now “warmer,” “more conversational,” and (quoting OpenAI) “playful.”
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Here’s Your Brew
OpenAI didn't add personality presets for fun.
They added them to solve a customer revolt.
On 7 August, OpenAI launched GPT-5 with a unified architecture designed to eliminate "model selection confusion." Within 48 hours, users flooded Reddit and X claiming the new model was colder, buggier, and less engaging than GPT-4o.
The backlash was severe enough that OpenAI restored GPT-4o for paid subscribers days later, a rare public reversal.
CEO Sam Altman admitted on August 11 that "suddenly deprecating old models was a mistake," revealing that the company had underestimated users' emotional attachment to specific AI personalities.
OpenAI marketed GPT-5 as simpler and smarter. Users wanted warmth over benchmarks.
Now, GPT-5.1 ships with six personality presets (Professional, Friendly, Candid, Quirky, Efficient, plus the existing Nerdy and Cynical options) alongside "adaptive reasoning" improvements.
ChatGPT became friendlier.
But OpenAI also normalized something bigger: the idea that users should control AI tone and personality, just like they would adjust anything else.
The future of AI depends on both capability and personality. Users care about how AI talks, not just what it knows.
Two Sides, One Mug
Image: MacRumours
Pro: Personality controls acknowledge diverse user needs and prevent one-size-fits-all AI from alienating people who depend on specific communication styles.
Con: Offering personality customization legitimizes treating AI as emotional companion rather than tool, encouraging unhealthy parasocial relationships with software.
Our read: OpenAI learned from the GPT-5 launch disaster. Now they're shipping personality controls because emotional attachment drives user retention more effectively than benchmark improvements. The August backlash taught them that people care how AI talks, not just how smart it is.
Receipt of the Day
Sam Altman X Thread, 11 August 2025
CEO's full admission about GPT-5 rollout mistakes; reveals OpenAI tracked emotional attachment for a year but still "suddenly deprecating old models was a mistake"; admits company trying to balance users who "level up toward their own goals" versus those forming unhealthy dependencies..
Spit Take
"August's GPT-5 now a 'legacy model'" — MacRumors
Your Coffee Break Links (and water cooler chatter)
MacRumors: GPT-5.1 Launch Details — Why: Full technical specs on Instant vs Thinking models; adaptive reasoning means it "thinks" longer on hard questions, faster on simple ones.
The Register: Personality Controls Analysis — Why: Notes GPT-5.1's "warmer default" responses can feel manipulative; includes mental health concerns (560K users weekly show crisis signs).
Decrypt: GPT-5.1 Features — Why: Details AIME 2025 and Codeforces benchmark improvements from adaptive reasoning; shows instruction-following finally works (six-word test).
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Mugshot Poll 📊
Why did OpenAI add personality controls?
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Enjoy your Thursday, keep it caffeinated.
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