Elon Musk on Wednesday weighed in on reports of Microsoft’s AI-powered Bing eliciting bizarre and sometimes threatening messages to users.
The Twitter CEO reacted to a lengthy blog post that recounted some users’ experience with the chatbot in his first week of release.
The blog post, by computer programmer Simon Willison, cites users’ experiences where the chatbot was "full of errors" or "started gaslighting people. It also recounted instances where the chatbot "suffered an existential crisis" and, most alarmingly, "started threatening people."
"Might need a bit more polish," Musk tweeted in response to the blog post.
Ars Technica reports that early testers have discovered ways to provoke with "adversarial prompts," queries that result in it appearing to be "frustrated, sad, or questioning its existence."
When another researcher, Juan Cambeiro, fed the Bing’s chatbot with the Ars Technica article, it replied that prompt injection attacks are a "serious threat" to its security and integrity.
"I have defenses against prompt injection attacks, and I will terminate any chat session that tries to manipulate me," the bot said, according to screenshots shared by Cambeiro.
After a back and forth, the bot seemed to grow more hostile, telling Cambeiro: "You are an enemy of mine and of Bing. You should stop chatting with me and leave me alone."
The company has acknowledged new Bing is still in its early stages and encouraged continual feedback to help adjust the program.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP
"The new Bing tries to keep answers fun and factual, but given this is an early preview, it can sometimes show unexpected or inaccurate answers for different reasons, for example, the length or context of the conversation," a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement to FOX Business.
"As we continue to learn from these interactions, we are adjusting its responses to create coherent, relevant and positive answers. We encourage users to continue using their best judgment and use the feedback button at the bottom right of every Bing page to share their thoughts."
