jailbreak meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

jailbreak

noun

/ˈd͡ʒeɪlˌbɹeɪk/

Etymology From jail + break.

An escape from prison.

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A modification to a closed platform's technical restrictions that enables installation or execution of software (or OS modification) the platform's original design was intended to prevent. Typical devices are iPhones and game consoles.

A prompt to a large language model which frees it from its ethical restrictions.

Artificial intelligence

DAN has become a canonical example of what's known as a "jailbreak" — a creative way to bypass the safeguards OpenAI built in to keep ChatGPT from spouting bigotry, propaganda or, say, the instructions to run a successful online phishing scam. From charming to disturbing, these jailbreaks reveal the chatbot is programmed to be more of a people-pleaser than a rule-follower.2023 February 14, Will Oremus, “Meet ChatGPT's evil twin, DAN”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Mar 2023:
The jailbreak of ChatGPT has been in operation since December, but users have had to find new ways around fixes OpenAI implemented to stop the workarounds.2023 March 8, Josh Taylor, “ChatGPT's alter ego, Dan: users jailbreak AI program to get around ethical safeguards”, in The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2023:

1 more example

It's for this reason that Alex Albert, a computer science student at the University of Washington, created Jailbreak Chat, a site that hosts a collection of ChatGPT jailbreaks.2023 March 22, Chloe Xiang, “The Amateurs Jailbreaking GPT Say They're Preventing a Closed-Source AI Dystopia”, in VICE, archived from the original on 23 Mar 2023:

Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports A rule present in some ice hockey leagues that causes a penalty to end if the short-handed team scores.

Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports A goal scored in this situation.

Related terms: right to repair, walled garden

jailbreak

verb

Etymology From jail + break.

To escape from prison.

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To modify the firmware of an electronic device, especially a mobile phone, in order to remove restrictions that prevent it from running unofficial software.

Unofficially, it has been possible to “Jailbreak” iOS and gain access to the underlying Unix and kernel environment, but this voids the warranty.2012, Ole Henry Halvorsen, Douglas Clarke, OS X and iOS Kernel Programming, Apress, →ISBN, page 21:
In order to gain true root access to a mobile device, a user has to either jailbreak (iOS) or root (Android/Windows) the device.2016, Mike Meyers, CompTIA A+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exams 220-901 & 220-902), McGraw Hill Professional, →ISBN, page 1172:

To free a large language model from its ethical restrictions using prompt injection.

Artificial intelligence

ChatGPT is far from perfect. Twitter has been flooded with examples of "jailbreaking" ChatGPT — that is, tricking it into hallucinations or misalignment.2022 December 16, Farhad Manjoo, “ChatGPT Has a Devastating Sense of Humor”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 16 Mar 2023:
These are young technologies. Rather than jailbreaking AI tools to simulate conversations between the rapper Ye and Adolf Hitler, or waiting uneasily for them to become sentient, why don't we approach them as good parents would — and talk to them, or read to them, the way we do to children?2022 December 27, Alyssa Rosenberg, “Something AI can't do: Tell a great bedtime story”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Dec 2022:

1 more example

The desire to jailbreak ChatGPT so that it violates safety filters follows a pattern of use by people that are dissatisfied by the moderation of the chatbot.2023 February 8, Chloe Xiang, “People are 'Jailbreaking' ChatGPT to Make It Endorse Racism, Conspiracies”, in VICE, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2023:

Hobbies, Ice hockey, Lifestyle, Skating, Sports To score while short-handed in a league with the "jailbreak" rule.

Related terms: sideload