OpenAI is one of the most influential companies in the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Established in 2015 by tech visionary Elon Musk and entrepreneur Sam Altman, OpenAI was formed with the intention of creating an ethical and democratic approach to artificial intelligence. This goal was furthered when Microsoft invested over $10 billion to acquire the ChatGPT chatbot and its source code, leading OpenAI to consider launching an open-source AI model.
The open-source AI model differs from the current closed-source GPT-4, the most powerful language model developed by OpenAI. With an open-source model, developers and contributors from around the world have the ability to access the code and improve and develop further from it. Meanwhile, ChatGPT Plus, powered by GPT-4, charges users $20 a month to access its features, making it difficult for an open-source variant similar to the premium version to attract users.
Unfortunately, this model also carries the potential for malicious use, as criminal actors would be able to access, modify, and change the code for their own purposes. For the time being, OpenAI has yet to release anything, but the notion of an open-source AI model has been gaining traction in the industry. Already, Meta has released its large language model meta AI (LLaMA) to the public, allowing further development by third parties.
Microsoft benefits from its association with OpenAI, as ChatGPT enables the company to compete with Google in the search sector. Meanwhile, Elon Musk and Sam Altman provide a wealth of experience and resources to OpenAI with regard to developing cutting-edge technology. OpenAI has the potential to transform the AI sector, and it will be interesting to see the results of their newest endeavor.
