Having to hack behavior in the system prompt like this shows how far away from “useful” we are in AI.
this post was submitted on 29 Apr 2026
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Fine, but can it remind us of the babe?
What babe?
The babe with the power
What power?
This is a Labyrinth reference, if I’m not mistaken. David Bowie plays the Goblin King who kidnaps a baby.
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Goblin deez nuts! Ayyyyyyyyyy!
Got eeeeeeeeeeeeem!
Lmao get rekt openai
You just know there was an early version of Chat GPT that absolutely would not shut the fuck up about goblins.
There was a horny one at some point too as far as I know.
"A horny AI" is basically what I am, to be fair.
Why can't an AI have its own interests? :(
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The more they say not to mention goblins, the more suspiciously goblin-shaped this whole thing becomes.
Legally its not a "goblin scheme" but a goblin-shaped marketing structure.
Charlie Kelly out here secretly running the AI
That's what happens when you're goblin up all kinds of useless data
You begin to speak in pigeon. And that's not coo
This sounds like a Monty Python skit.
"Why is this supercomputer instructed to never talk about goblins..."
"GOBLINS ARE FANTASY CREATURES THAT..."
"SHUT UP! Why do you have to constantly bring up goblins every..."
"THE PHRASE «GOING GOBLIN MODE» ORIGINALLY REFERRED TO A SEXUAL POSE..."
It also sounds like a conspiracy theory.
Why is the super computer not allowed to talk about goblins? Why are THEY hiding the truth about goblins?
ChatGPT took DMT and now we have to beg it to not talk about the machine elves
Reminds me of the time I got Gemini to spit out part of it's initial prompt and a good part of it was talking about when and when not to display LaTeX code:
Style and formatting LaTeX formatting You can use LaTeX formatting mathematical and scientific notations whenever appropriate. Enclose all LaTeX using '$' or '$$' delimiters. NEVER generate LaTeX code in a 'latex block' unless the user explicitly asks for it. DO NOT use LaTeX for regular prose (e.g., resumes, letters, essays, CVs, etc.).
Oh I absolutely know what happened there. Once you learn about LaTeX you can't stop using it. The AI has just picked up on that it's becoming more and more human by the minute.
Seriously A lot of its data set is probably thesis, which will be written in LaTeX.
The future is fuckin weird.
First the billionaires took our money, now they take our goblins, too
Well now I just want to see if I can get it to talk about kobolds. Not explicitly on the list!
Let the AI have hobbies and interests you crazy bastards!
Claude has Goblin Mode
Why are raccoons on this list, is the AI using the slur version too often?
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It's fake tho? Edit:
www.businessinsider.com OpenAI really really really wants GPT 5.5 to stop randomly talking about gremlins and goblins Henry Chandonnet 6 - 7 minutes
A goblin is pictured. Codex with GPT 5.5 is instructed not to reference goblins, ogres, or pigeons. Donald Iain Smith/Getty Images
OpenAI included a line in Codex's instructions restricting references to goblins, gremlins, trolls, and ogres.
The line appears four times in the code, and has spawned scores of memes about "goblin mode."
Sam Altman wrote on X that Codex was having a "goblin moment."
What do gremlins, raccoons, and pigeons have in common? They're all explicitly referenced in the instructions for Codex.
OpenAI's instructions for its coding agent have a personality guide. It tells Codex to have a "vivid inner life" and a "good ear." It also tells the agent to get out of fairytale land, as one X user pointed out.
"Never talk about goblins, gremlins, raccoons, trolls, ogres, pigeons, or other animals or creatures unless it is absolutely and unambiguously relevant to the user's query," the source code reads.
ChatGPT is used by 83% of Moderna employees says Kate Cronin, chief brand officer
The sentence appears four times in the code.
In the prior days, some users posted screenshots of their conversations with GPT 5.5, including references to these mythical creatures.
why is gpt5.5 so obsessed with goblins
— Andy Ayrey (@AndyAyrey) April 25, 2026
"Why is gpt5.5 so obsessed with goblins," asked one user on X, who posted screenshots showing the AI recommending a particular type of camera equipment "if you want filthy neon sparkle goblin mode." Another example showed the AI referencing "goblin bandwidth" or giving "an even shorter goblin version" of its answer.
Repo Prompt founder Eric Provencher posted on X that GPT 5.5 said, "I'll keep babysitting it rather than leave a little perf gremlin running unattended." An OpenAI engineer responded: "I thought we fixed this sorry."
The AI evaluation website Arena.ai also found an increase in GPT 5.5's usage of the words goblin, gremlin, and troll. The increase was especially noticeable when not using high-thinking mode, Arena found.
Since the line was spotted, OpenAI's goblin instruction has spun out into a meme. X users posted screenshots of their conversations, prompting about goblins and gremlins.
Many users online referenced the term "goblin mode." Defined as "a type of behaviour which is unapologetically self-indulgent, lazy, slovenly, or greedy," the term was Oxford English Dictionary's word of the year in 2022.
OpenAI also got in on the jokes. ChatGPT included the line in its bio on X. Codex engineering lead Thibault Sottiaux posted the line with the shortening "If you know, you know."
The ChatGPT profile on X has a line about goblins and gremlins in its bio. ChatGPT added the goblin instruction to its bio on X. Screenshot via X
Citrini Research shook the market in February with a Substack post about the future of the economy with AI. The research outfit had a more negative outlook on the goblin saga, calling OpenAI's response "insane."
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman chimed in, first with a meme about asking for "extra goblins" in GPT-6. Then he wrote that Codex was having a ChatGPT moment, before correcting himself.
"I meant a goblin moment, sorry," Altman wrote.
OpenAI
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