ChatGPT blocks requests to mimic an author's style

OpenAI has modified ChatGPT to block direct requests that ask the model to write in the style of a named author, according to a report circulated on Hacker News, tracing to Ars Technica under the headline “ChatGPT stops cloning famous writers’ voices but may capture a similar feeling.” The report’s URL carries a July 2026 date path, while the item’s listed publication timestamp reads August 9, 2026. The two dates conflict, and the material provided does not resolve which is correct.

The change concerns prompts that explicitly name a writer and ask the chatbot to mimic that writer’s voice. Such direct requests are now refused. The report’s headline indicates that ChatGPT may still produce text that captures a similar feeling or quality to a named author’s work, even when it will not comply with an explicit imitation request.

No further detail on the mechanism of the block, its scope, or OpenAI’s stated rationale is available in the supplied material. The source citation is limited to the single Ars Technica item as relayed through Hacker News. No comparative information about how other AI developers handle style mimicry requests, and no additional legal or industry commentary, appears in the material at hand.

The Specola’s log records this single, isolated change to ChatGPT’s behavior as reported, pending fuller sourcing on the discrepancy in dates and on any broader context.