What happened

Arve Hjalmar Holmen queried ChatGPT about himself and received a fabricated story claiming he had murdered two of his sons and attempted to kill a third, resulting in a fictional 21-year prison sentence. 

The AI-generated response included a number of accurate personal details, such as the number and gender of his children and his hometown, making the false information seem more credible. 

The episode caused significant distress to Mr. Holmen, who fears that people might believe the false information, potentially damaging his reputation and personal life.

Why it happened

The incident occurred due to a phenomenon known as "hallucinations" in which AI systems generate fabricated information and present it as factual. Hallucinations can result from incorrect data, biases, or inaccuracies in the AI model's training dataset. 

In ChatGPT's case, the system may have combined fragments of accurate information with fictional elements, creating a false narrative about Mr. Holmen.