OpenAI, the cutting-edge artificial intelligence company, is making a significant shift away from the development of larger models, according to its CEO, Sam Altman. At an MIT event in early April, Altman suggested that the ‘bigger is better’ mantra may not have much to gain in terms of advancements in AI.
“We’re at the end of the era where it’s going to be these, like, giant, giant models,” said Altman, potentially hinting at the end of the widely popular GPT-4 line. Altman’s comments come in response to rumors and an open letter signed by 1,200 AI professionals alleging that OpenAI is currently training GPT-5, the successor of GPT-4. “An earlier version of the letter claimed we were training GPT-5. We are not and we won’t be for some time,” Altman dismissed, calling such claims “sort of silly.”
Following the success of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s chatbot powered by their large language model, many tech giants such as Google and Microsoft have moved quickly to incorporate the technology or produce something similar. But Altman acknowledges that while current models like GPT-4 have remarkable performances, more needs to be done to perfect the technology in terms of accuracy, safety, and mitigating biases. “What we want to deliver to the world is the most capable and useful and safe models,” he concluded.
This shift away from larger-scale models has been backed by other researchers, who are vocal in their opposition to the undermining consequence of overusing large AI models, such as trust and reliance. OpenAI’s pivot from quantity to quality calls for a more responsible approach to developing AI, and it is under the watchful eye of industry insiders that further innovations arise.
OpenAI was founded in 2015 by leading scientists in the field of AI such as Elon Musk and Greg Brockman. Since then, OpenAI has been dedicated to creating advanced artificial general intelligence (AGI) and helping ensure that the developments of technology benefit everyone. Its main research areas encompass robotics, systems, and machine learning, and its most well-known achievement is the 2018 release of GPT-2, one of the largest publicly released language models.
Sam Altman currently serves as the CEO and chairman of OpenAI, having previously co-founded a number of companies and initiatives, including Y Combinator and Loopt. Originally from Minnesota, Altman received his college education at Stanford University and went on to become one of the U.S’s most prolific angel investors. His endeavors emphasize the need for responsible development in emerging tech and AI, and he has been at the forefront of critical discussions involving the impact of rapidly evolving AI technologies.
