Show notes
There are other model releases to get to, but while we gather data on those, first things first. OpenAI has given us GPT-5.1: Same price including in the API, Same intelligence, better mundane utility? Their Announcement Sam Altman (CEO OpenAI): GPT-5.1 is out! It's a nice upgrade. I particularly like the improvements in instruction following, and the adaptive thinking. The intelligence and style improvements are good too. Also, we’ve made it easier to customize ChatGPT. You can pick from presets (Default, Friendly, Efficient, Professional, Candid, or Quirky) or tune it yourself. OpenAI: GPT-5.1 in ChatGPT is rolling out to all users this week. It's smarter, more reliable, and a lot more conversational. GPT-5.1 is now better at: – Following custom instructions – Using reasoning for more accurate responses – And just better at chatting overall GPT-5.1 Instant is now warmer and more conversational. The model can use adaptive reasoning to decide to think a bit longer before responding to tougher questions. It also has improved instruction following, so the model more reliably answers the question you actually asked. GPT-5.1 Thinking now more effectively adjusts [...] ---Outline:(00:26) Their Announcement(04:36) Their Pitch on GPT-5.1 Instant(06:39) Their Pitch on GPT-5.1 Thinking(09:15) Now With Extra Glaze(14:16) Genuine People Personalities(15:24) The End Of The Em-Dash?(17:15) Turning A Dial And Looking Back At The Audience(18:00) System Card(19:12) On Your Marks(19:58) Ask Them Anything(21:55) Reactions Introduction(22:24) Officially Pitched Developer Reactions(24:47) Positive Reactions(30:57) Personality Reactions(33:46) Verbosity Reactions(35:05) Negative Reactions(37:22) Initial Pliny Report(39:03) The #Keep4o Crowd Is Not Happy, Defends 5.0(42:39) Overall Take --- First published: November 18th, 2025 Source: https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/uvdEpxoKTjdgBdn3b/gpt-5-1-follows-custom-instructions-and-glazes --- Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO. ---Images from the article:Apple Podcasts and Spotify do not show images in the episode description. Try Pocket Casts, or another podcast app.