Podcast Summary: The AI Podcast

Episode: OpenAI Releases ChatGPT 5.1 With Collective Task Mapping
Host: Jaden Schaefer
Date: November 15, 2025

Main Theme

This episode focuses on the latest updates from OpenAI, specifically the release of ChatGPT 5.1 and its new “collective task mapping” (referred to as group chat). Host Jaden Schaefer unpacks the new features, discusses the community’s reactions, and highlights both the improvements and quirks in the latest release. The show also touches on OpenAI’s updated naming conventions and reflects on the evolving expectations around AI progress.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Overview of ChatGPT 5.1 Group Chat Feature

• Rollout Locations: Piloting in Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Taiwan.

• How It Works: Functions like a regular ChatGPT experience, but allows multiple users to participate in a single conversation. Up to 20 participants can join.

• Accessibility: Available on both free and paid tiers.

  “They have like select geographic locations and it is just like a regular ChatGPT chat experience, except you have a whole bunch of people that can, you know, tune in, chime in on this chat.” (00:38)

• Potential Use Cases:

  • Group assignments or collaborative class projects.
  • Workflow collaborations (e.g., document outlining and section assignments).
  • Sharing ongoing chats between individuals for sequential editing.

  “I think the most, like the very, the most common thing this is going to get used for is just sending it over to one person... and they can keep working on it.” (11:24)

• User Controls: If users are under 18, content is filtered with additional safeguards and parental controls.

  “If users are under 18, the content is filtered... filtered to only things that are appropriate for them.” (12:30)

2. Community Reactions to ChatGPT 5.1

• Addressing the EM Dash Issue:

  • OpenAI has fixed the notorious overuse of EM dashes in AI-generated text.
  • Now, if users instruct ChatGPT not to use EM dashes (via custom instructions), it generally complies.

  “If you tell ChatGPT not to use EM dashes in your custom instructions, it finally does what it's supposed to do.” (02:05)

• Community Humor:

  • A meme poking fun at the shift in perceived AI progress:

    • 2023: Strong expectations of AGI (“AGI any day now”).
    • 2025: The excitement is about removing EM dashes ("you can tell ChatGPT not to use EM dashes").

    “I mean, I think this just kind of goes to show... we talked so much about AGI in the last two years and now we are making posts about EM dashes being removed...” (03:04)

• Quirks and Critiques:

  • Some mention that the fix isn’t perfect; ChatGPT still occasionally slips in an EM dash despite being instructed not to.
  • Joke about a startup whose sole purpose was removing EM dashes: “if that really was somebody's startup, it deserved to die. Sad death.” (03:55)

3. Quirks in the Update

• Instruction Persistence Glitch:

  • When told to “only respond using six words,” ChatGPT sometimes latches onto that command and applies it to all future responses, even after the user tries to reset it.

  “Any message I sent to ChatGPT today after that, it would be like... I'm only using six words like you said. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like three times. It kept doing that...” (05:45)

  • Explicit commands were needed to clear old instructions from memory.
  • Described as “funny quirks” that are consistent with every major OpenAI rollout.

4. Naming Convention Improvements

• Clarity With Model Versions:

  • OpenAI has adopted a more logical and clear naming system: GPT-5.1, 5.2, etc.
  • No more confusing labels like “mini ultra max.”
  • Suggests that major increments will now only trigger a new full version number (e.g., GPT-6).

  “One thing that I do appreciate that they're doing there is that the naming convention is a lot more. Not GPT4. GPT4 point, GPT4. Oh, mini ultra max. Like, just... now they just have GPT5. It's going to be 0.1, 0.2, 0.3...” (08:14)

  • Implication: OpenAI hesitated to use “GPT-5” previously to avoid overhyping developments.

5. Broader Perspective on AI Hype

• Shift in Expectations:
  • The community has gone from chasing AGI hype to celebrating minor but practical usability improvements.
  • The host notes this as a natural evolution as real-world applications and end-user experience become more important.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the EM Dash Fix:

  “Small but happy win. If you tell ChatGPT not to use EM dashes in your custom instructions, it finally does what it's supposed to do.” – Jaden Schaefer, quoting Sam Altman (02:05)

• On Group Chat Usefulness:

  “To me like thinking about like a group chat with 20 people, it seems like out of control. But if you kind of have like a pre set up workflow... maybe in a normal group text chat, then everyone go work on the document and ever get their part of it done on a project. So maybe that's useful.” (10:12)

• On the Persistence Glitch:

  “It saves things to memory that are like obviously one off things... I'm not saying for all of eternity, only ever respond with six words. Like, that's ridiculous. Somehow it interpreted that way. So watch out.” (06:46)

• On Naming Conventions:

  “I think they were really worried and trying to get away from naming anything GPT5 for a long time because it had so much hype built around it, and that's why they came up with all these weird names... seems like we're just onto normal names now, so that's fantastic.” (09:03)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:29] Introduction and ChatGPT 5.1 Group Chat overview
• [02:05] EM Dash problem resolved
• [03:04] Community reactions and memes
• [05:45] “Six words” instruction and memory glitch
• [08:14] GPT 5.1 naming convention and versioning
• [10:12] Deep dive on group chat use cases
• [12:30] Content filtering for under-18 users

Final Thoughts

• GPT 5.1 is a step forward in usability, clarity, and features—with continuing quirks and limitations.
• OpenAI’s approach now focuses on steady, practical improvements over hype.
• The group chat and content filtering features suggest a push toward collaborative and responsible AI usage.

This episode is valuable for anyone looking to keep up with the latest from OpenAI and get a candid, practical perspective on both the advances and the daily realities of new AI features.