Sam Altman, Over Bread Rolls, Explores Life After Gpt-5

I’m looking retired astatine Alcatraz Island from a Mediterranean edifice successful San Francisco pinch hundred-dollar food entrees connected nan menu. As I make mini talk pinch different reporters, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman jumps done nan doorway connected my left. Altman’s looking down astatine his bare iPhone to show america each something, and an intrusive thought slips retired of my mouth: “No telephone lawsuit is simply a bold choice.”

Of course, I instantly recognize that nan billionaire CEO of OpenAI, who employs Apple seasoned Jony Ive, cares much astir preserving nan iPhone’s original creation than nan $1,000 it costs to switch one.

“Listen, we’re going to vessel a instrumentality that is going to beryllium truthful beautiful,” said Altman, referring to OpenAI and Ive’s forthcoming AI device. “If you put a lawsuit complete it, I will personally hunt you down,” he joked.

Altman had gathered astir a twelve tech reporters to subordinate him and different OpenAI executives for an on-the-record meal (and off-the-record dessert). The nighttime raised much questions than it answered.

For instance, why is Nick Turley, nan VP of ChatGPT, kindly passing maine a lamb skewer conscionable a week aft launching GPT-5? Was this to make maine constitute bully things astir OpenAI’s biggest AI exemplary motorboat yet, which was comparatively disappointing fixed nan years of hype astir it?

Unlike GPT-4, which acold outpaced rivals and challenged expectations of what AI tin do, GPT-5 performs astir connected par pinch models from Google and Anthropic. OpenAI moreover brought back GPT-4o, and ChatGPT’s exemplary picker, aft respective users expressed concerns complete GPT-5’s reside and its exemplary router.

But passim nan night, it became clear to maine that this meal was astir OpenAI’s early beyond GPT-5. OpenAI’s executives gave nan belief that AI exemplary launches are little important than they were erstwhile GPT-4 launched successful 2023. After all, OpenAI is simply a very different institution now, focused connected upending bequest players successful search, user hardware, and endeavor software.

OpenAI shared immoderate caller specifications astir those efforts.

Altman said OpenAI’s incoming CEO of applications, Fidji Simo, would oversee aggregate user apps extracurricular of ChatGPT — ones OpenAI has yet to launch. Simo is slated to commencement activity astatine OpenAI successful conscionable a fewer weeks, and she mightiness extremity up overseeing nan motorboat of an AI-powered browser that OpenAI is reportedly processing to compete pinch Chrome.

While Turley and Brad Lightcap, OpenAI’s COO, mostly gave nan level to Altman, drinking vino alongside nan different seated guests, Altman besides confirmed reports that OpenAI plans to backmost a brain-computer interface startup, Merge Labs, to compete pinch Elon Musk’s Neuralink. (“We person not done that woody yet; I would for illustration america to.”) How intertwined that institution will beryllium pinch OpenAI’s models and devices remains to beryllium seen. Altman described it only arsenic a “a institution that we’d put in.”

Given each these bets — and others OpenAI is making astir information centers, robotics, and power — Altman intelligibly has ambitions of moving a overmuch bigger institution than conscionable nan ChatGPT maker. The last shape could look thing for illustration Google’s genitor Alphabet, but possibly moreover broader.

In nan coming years, it seems apt that OpenAI will spell nationalist to meet its monolithic superior demands. In mentation for that, I deliberation Altman wants to hone his narration pinch nan media. However, I deliberation OpenAI besides wants to get to a spot wherever it’s nary longer defined by its champion AI model.