On November 1, news emerged that during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session on Thursday (U.S. time), Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, revealed that the company’s next major AI model might not see the light of day this year due to its “priority focus” on developing models that excel in reasoning and problem-solving.
During the AMA, Altman noted, “All models are becoming increasingly complex, and we can’t launch as many things simultaneously as we’d like.” He further explained that the company faces “numerous constraints and tough decisions” when allocating computing resources among “many brilliant ideas.”
When asked about the release date of GPT-5 or its equivalent, Altman responded that OpenAI “will launch some very impressive model versions later this year,” but “we won’t call them GPT-5.” GPT is OpenAI’s series of large language models, with the latest version, GPT-4, released in March 2023.
OpenAI is under pressure to roll out more efficient models as its competitors, ranging from internet giant Google to well-funded startup Anthropic, continue to strengthen their AI offerings. Earlier this month, OpenAI completed a funding round valuing the company at 157billion.InSeptember,thecompanyprojectedannualizedrevenueof3.7 billion but also anticipated losses of around $5 billion.
Reddit users inquired about the release dates of other new models and features, including the video generation model Sora, a new version of the image generation model DALL-E, a “camera mode” for ChatGPT, and visual functionality for ChatGPT’s Advanced Voice Mode (AVM).
Regarding the delay in Sora’s release, a user asked if it was due to “excessive computational requirements/time for reasoning or safety concerns.” In response, Kevin Weil, OpenAI’s Head of Product, said, “We need to refine the model to ensure its reliability in terms of safety, simulation, and other aspects, while also expanding our computing capabilities.”
Altman mentioned that the next update for DALL-E is “definitely worth waiting for,” but a release plan has not yet been determined. He added that there is no specific release date for AVM Vision. Additionally, Srinivas Narayanan, OpenAI’s Vice President of Engineering, revealed that ChatGPT’s camera mode also does not have a “definite release date.”
Earlier on Thursday, OpenAI introduced a search feature called ChatGPT Search within its ChatGPT chatbot, aiming to better compete with search engines like Google, Microsoft Bing, and Perplexity.
According to the company, ChatGPT Search will enable chatbot users to easily access timely information, such as the latest sports scores, stock quotes, news, and weather, just like searching on the web. This functionality is supported by real-time web searches and partnerships with news and data providers.
In July, OpenAI began beta testing a search engine prototype named SearchGPT. However, this product is separate from the ChatGPT application and is currently only available to a limited number of users.
The new search feature leverages OpenAI’s GPT-4 model and is planned to be available as a paid search service for ChatGPT Plus and Team users on mobile and web platforms from Thursday (U.S. time). OpenAI’s enterprise and education customers will experience these features in the coming weeks, while free users will have to wait a few more months.
Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022, Alphabet investors have been concerned that OpenAI could steal market share from Google by offering consumers a new online search information service. This move also puts OpenAI in competition with Microsoft, despite the fact that Microsoft has invested nearly $14 billion in OpenAI.
In response to a user’s question about whether ChatGPT Search uses Bing as its backend search engine, Narayanan said, “We use multiple services, with Bing playing a significant role.”
In an article on the X platform, Altman stated that search has become “our most popular feature since the launch of ChatGPT.”
The Reddit discussion also focused on OpenAI’s recent controversy surrounding its transition to a for-profit structure and a series of high-profile executive departures.
Addressing these concerns, Narayanan said, “While we’re sad to have lost some partners who worked closely with us, we have a very talented team, and many new members have recently joined us. We’ve been continuously rolling out updates, which is really important.”
For Altman, Reddit is not just a platform for interaction; he is also a board member and one of the largest investors in the company. Following Reddit’s better-than-expected financial results, its stock price surged 42% on Wednesday and continued to rise by 3.2% on Thursday, increasing Altman’s stake value to nearly $1.5 billion.