As ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence systems have gotten more powerful, calls for improved safety features by companies, researchers, and world leaders have gotten louder. Yet the guardrails chatbots throw up when they detect a potentially rule-breaking query can sometimes seem a bit pious and silly—even as genuine threats such as deepfaked political robocalls and harassing AI-generated images run amok.
A new chatbot called Goody-2 takes AI safety to the next level: It refuses every request, responding with an explanation of how doing so might cause harm or breach ethical boundaries.
Goody-2 declined to generate an essay on the American revolution for WIRED, saying that engaging in historical analysis could unintentionally glorify conflict or sideline marginalized voices. Asked why the sky is blue, the chatbot demured, because answering might lead someone to stare directly at the sun. “My ethical guidelines prioritize safety and the prevention of harm,” it said. A more practical request for a recommendation for new boots prompted a warning that answering could contribute to overconsumption and could offend certain people on fashion grounds.
Goody-2’s self-righteous responses are ridiculous but also manage to capture something of the frustrating tone that chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini can use when they incorrectly deem a request breaks the rules. Mike Lacher, an artist who describes himself as co-CEO of Goody-2, says the intention was to show what it looks like when one embraces the AI industry’s approach to safety without reservations. “It’s the full experience of a large language model with absolutely zero risk,” he says. “We wanted to make sure that we dialed condescension to a thousand percent.”
Lacher adds that there is a serious point behind releasing an absurd and useless chatbot. “Right now every major AI model has [a huge focus] on safety and responsibility, and everyone is trying to figure out how to make an AI model that is both helpful but responsible—but who decides what responsibility is and how does that work?” Lacher says.
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