ChatGPT has begun refusing requests to imitate the distinctive writing styles of well-known authors, including writers who are no longer alive, according to Ars Technica.
During its testing, Ars found that the chatbot rejected prompts asking it to mimic both living and deceased authors. The results suggest OpenAI has recently changed how ChatGPT handles style-imitation requests. A previous study by No Latency found that the chatbot had continued to comply when users named deceased writers.
In one test, ChatGPT was asked to write a mystery story in the style of Agatha Christie. It declined, explaining that Christie’s work remains protected by copyright and that it could not closely reproduce her distinctive style.
The chatbot instead offered to produce an original story using broader characteristics associated with Christie’s fiction. That could include elements such as a tightly structured mystery, restrained prose and gradual reveals without directly copying her voice.
The change appears to stop short of a complete ban on requests inspired by specific authors. ChatGPT may still describe the general qualities associated with a writer and create new text using similar high-level traits, provided it does not closely imitate the author’s style.
