Home OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says future AI will surpass ‘dumbest’ GPT-4 model

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says future AI will surpass ‘dumbest’ GPT-4 model

TL:DR

  • OpenAI's Sam Altman labels ChatGPT as "dumbest" at Stanford seminar.
  • Plans major future investments in AI; predicts GPT-5 and GPT-6 will be smarter.
  • Altman responds to questions on AI operating costs, financial sustainability.

OpenAI’s co-founder, Sam Altman, has stated that ChatGPT is currently at its “dumbest” and assured there would be major future investments in AI development.

“GPT-4 is the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again by a lot,” Altman told a seminar at Stanford University. “It’s important to ship early and often and we believe in iterative deployment. If we go build AGI in a basement and then the world is kind of blissfully walking blindfolded along, I don’t think that makes us very good neighbors,” he said.

Later into the conversation, Altman suggested that “GPT 5 is going to be a lot smarter than GPT 4″ in intelligence, and predicted that GPT-6 will continue this trend.

OpenAI’s financial sustainability

The CEO also responded to a question about the reported operating costs of GPT-3 and how they’ve increased for GPT-4. However, he refrained from disclosing the specific costs associated with developing and maintaining these models. Altman was then questioned on whether the expense of AI will continue to escalate and the long-term sustainability of such financial commitments. He told the audience that money was not a “driver” in his life and that the organization “didn’t realize we were going to need so much money to compute.”

Altman was recently removed from the company’s venture capital arm OpenAI Startup Fund, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The change, noted in the March 29 filing, followed scrutiny over Altman’s management of the OpenAI Startup Fund.

Though the fund was promoted similarly to a corporate venture arm, it was structured unusually, as Altman raised it with external limited partners and personally made the investment decisions.

“There is probably some more business-minded person than me at OpenAI somewhere that is worried about how much we’re spending, but I kind of don’t,” he said. When pressed on burning “$520 million of cash last year” for running the “phenomenal ChatGPT”, Altman disagreed and called the “dumbest” large language model “mildly embarrassing at best”.

Featured image: Canva

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech industry for major developments, new product launches, AI breakthroughs, video game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to staff writers or freelance contributors with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.