ChatGPT faces global outage, thousands report access issues
San Francisco/New Delhi: OpenAI’s ChatGPT experienced widespread disruptions which left thousands of users unable to access the artificial intelligence chatbot on Wednesday, reported NDTV's Gadgets360.
Problems began at 12:25 p.m. IST, with reports peaking around 12:56 p.m., according to outage-tracking platform Downdetector. At the height of the disruption, 547 users reported issues. While reports have since decreased, OpenAI has not confirmed whether the service has been fully restored.
On its official status page, the San Francisco-based company acknowledged a “partial outage,” noting: “We’re currently experiencing issues. ChatGPT not displaying responses. We are investigating the issue for the listed services.” The company has not disclosed the cause of the disruption.
Downdetector’s data showed that 82 percent of affected users faced difficulties across all platforms, 15 percent reported problems accessing the website and 2 percent encountered issues using the app. Users said they were unable to see responses after sending messages.
Earlier, users reported an outage and disruption on Tuesday at 2:40 a.m. IST, during which round 2,200 users experienced similar difficulty accessing ChatGPT.
The latest interruption comes after OpenAI announced new safety precautions to protect teenagers and users experiencing emotional distress. The company announced features such as parental restrictions and more human monitoring of sensitive conversations, notably those involving self-harm or violence.
These measures were revealed after reports linked ChatGPT to two tragic incidents of suicides. One of a teenager who had reportedly relied on the chatbot for months and the case of a 56-year-old man who took his life after killing his mother.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
