In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) models have become larger and larger. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman however, suggests that going forward, those advances won’t necessarily come in size anymore. At an MIT event, Altman asserted developers will need to figure out “other ways” to make their AI models better. One of OpenAI’s most popular models, ChatGPT, is derived from the GPT-4, believed to be one of the most sophisticated large language models available.
Altman indicates a shift away from the current focus on parameter count, similar to the “gigahertz race” of processors from the 1990s and 2000s. While GPT-2 had 1.5 billion parameters, GPT-3 had 175 billion; OpenAI did not reveal the parameter count for GPT-4, suggesting that size won’t be the primary factor for their massive language models anymore. It is said that GPT-4 cost a staggering $100 million, with Altman stating it was actually more than that.
OpenAI’s success with ChatGPT provoked mixed reactions from tech leaders, leading to a 100-person open letter which called to pause the development and training of AI systems for the next six months. Upon further discussion, Altman agreed with the call for safety guardrails to be established before any AI system is released. Still, Altman claims that some concerns were exaggerated – OpenAI was not training GPT-5, nor were they negligent of safety protocols.
OpenAI is an artificial intelligence research laboratory founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, former Chief Executive Officer of Y Combinator Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and other tech leaders in late 2015. It’s main aim is to reduce the amount of labor from humans on the production side and increase the amount of artificial intelligence driven production. OpenAI was introduced with an investment of $1 billion with investors such as Microsoft, Peter Thiel, and Google.
Sam Altman is an American entrepreneur, investor and computer scientist, who is the current CEO of OpenAI, a San Francisco based AI research lab. He is also the former president of Y Combinator, a seed accelerator that has backed some world renowned startups, such as Airbnb, Dropbox, and Stripe. He is a strong advocate for Artificial Intelligence, and is often an inspirational speaker in the startup world.
