The new Bing told our reporter it ‘can feel or think things’

The AI-powered chatbot called itself Sydney, claimed to have its ‘own personality’ -- and objected to being interviewed for this article

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Updated February 18, 2023 at 12:47 p.m. EST|Published February 16, 2023 at 10:21 p.m. EST
Emoji collaged in the shape of a chat bubble.
(The Washington Post Illustration; iStock)
15 min

Last week, Microsoft launched a “reimagined” Bing search engine that can answer complex questions and converse directly with users. But instead of a chipper helper, some testers have encountered a moody and combative presence that calls itself Sydney.

These types of AI chatbots are built to be people-pleasers, so questions and prompts that treat the AI as human will elicit humanlike responses, as The Washington Post reported.