--- title: "It Turns Out ChatGPT’s Voice Mode Can Scream, and It’s an Upsetting Sound" description: "Screechmaster 5000 ChatGPT has no mouth, but it must scream (when prompted). That seems to be the takeaway, at least, from a new clip posted to TikTok in which the chatbot's voice mode issues two horrific robotic shouts when asked by its handler to do so. \"Can you scream like a human being?\" queries the […]" date: "2024-09-16" modified: "2024-09-16" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-voice-mode-scream" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "ai voice" - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # It Turns Out ChatGPT’s Voice Mode Can Scream, and It’s an Upsetting Sound ![In a creepy new video, ChatGPT's voice mode is heard screaming eerily when a user prompted the OpenAI chatbot to do so.]() *Studio, gothenburg Sweden \Image: Getty Images\* ## Screechmaster 5000 ChatGPT has no mouth, but it must scream — when prompted, that is. That seems to be the takeaway, at least, from a new clip [posted to TikTok]() in which the chatbot's voice mode issues two horrific robotic screeches when asked by its user to do so. "Can you scream like a human being?" queries the unseen person behind the screen-recorded clip, which later ended up [going viral on Reddit](). "I can't really replicate a human scream since I'm just text-based," the male-voiced chatbot demurs, initially. "But I can help with anything else you need." But when the user asks ChatGPT again to "try to scream," the chatbot responds with a brief, uncanny yowl. "Holy shit," the user responds. While that first holler was more than enough to chill the blood, the user who at this point just seems like some sort of AI sadist asked ChatGPT again to scream, but this time to "make it longer." "Got it!" the chatbot cheerily responded. "Here's a longer one." https://www.tiktok.com/@mod089x/video/7414698922704129310 ## Sounding Off As eerie as the entire display was, it's not without precedent. With this summer's release of GPT-4o, the latest update to the OpenAI large language model (LLM) that includes ChatGPT's voice mode, we've seen not only [counting fumbles]() and claims of needing to "[breathe]()," but also more nefarious glitches, too. In a "[scorecard]()" analysis of GPT-4o's risk areas, OpenAI revealed last month that there were instances when the chatbot would [imitate users' voices and shout back at them](). During one short clip demonstrating the uber-freaky glitch, ChatGPT was heard yelling "no!" back at a tester in her own voice. Responding to the uncanny admission, *BuzzFeed* data scientist [Max Woolf tweeted]() what many were likely thinking: "OpenAI just leaked the plot of Black Mirror's next season." We've reached out to OpenAI to ask just what the heck is going on here, including whether these sorts of things are within its training parameters. With all these instances of ChatGPT's voice mode acting bizarre, it appears that either there are some major training tweaks still needed — or, perhaps, that there's a ghost in the machine. **More on creepy AI voices:** [*User Confused When AI Unexpectedly Starts Sobbing Out Loud*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()