OpenAI CEO Sam Altman anticipates GPT-5 as a “significant leap forward” over GPT-4, which occasionally “goes off the rails” with mistakes even a six-year-old wouldn’t make

Sam Altman on the All-in Podcast in May 2024
(Image credit: All-in Podcast)

What you need to know

  • OpenAI CEO says GPT-5 will be a significant leap forward over its predecessor.
  • GPT-5 is currently in the early development phase and there's still a lot of work to do on it."
  • The model's official launch date remains unclear, though a report suggests it could be in the summer.

There's been a lot of hype around OpenAI launching its much-anticipated GPT-5 model. Many users expected the ChatGPT maker to ship the AI model during its Spring Update event. However, the company launched a new flagship GPT-4o model, described as magical by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

But as it now seems, we might have to wait a tad longer. In a broad interview at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Sam Altman talked about developing "GPT-5" (via The Decoder).

We don't know yet. We are optimistic, but we still have a lot of work to do on it.

OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman

While details about GPT-5's launch date remain slim, Altman says it'll be a "significant leap forward." Perhaps in comparison with its predecessor, GPT-4. In the past, Altman indicated GPT-4 "kind of sucks" and referred to the model as "mildly embarrassing at best."

Altman further explained:

"I expect it to be a significant leap forward. A lot of the things that GPT-4 gets wrong, you know, can't do much in the way of reasoning, sometimes just sort of totally goes off the rails and makes a dumb mistake, like even a six-year-old would never make." 

Altman's remarks about GPT-5 suggest the long-awaited model may be in the early development phase. This can be attributed to complex algorithmic and data issues, coupled with the scale of GPT-5.

The CEO compares the development of its LLMs to the iPhone. "The first iPhone was still pretty buggy, but it was good enough to be useful for people," added Altman.

Everything we know about GPT-5 so far

LIVE: Lester Holt interviews OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky at Aspen Ideas Festival - YouTube LIVE: Lester Holt interviews OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Airbnb’s Brian Chesky at Aspen Ideas Festival - YouTube
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Right off the bat, the ChatGPT maker may be moving away from the traditional names and functions across its AI models, according to a slide shown during ChatGPT voice demos at the VivaTech conference in Paris in May.

Sam Altman's sentiments on GPT-5 being a significant leap forward were echoed by a top executive at the company, who stated today's ChatGPT will be laughably bad within the next 12 months.

GPT-4 is the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again by a lot. It's important to ship early and often and we believe in iterative deployment.

OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman

We might be on the verge of the biggest technological breakthrough with AI. Altman says the AI revolution won't require new devices, potentially indicating that the tech will be cloud-based. Ironically, most of the next-gen AI features shipping to Windows 11 via the 24H2 release require sophisticated Copilot+ PCs

However, Altman stated "You'll be happy to have a new device" if the revolution demands new hardware. The global PC shipment is on an upward trajectory with projections of an 8% growth by 2025. Market analysts attribute this change to Windows 10's imminent death and the emergence of AI PCs. The economy is seemingly recovering after the COVID-19 pandemic, as more people are willing to make more IT-based investments. 

Elsewhere, a report suggests OpenAI is getting ready to ship a new model later this year during the summer that will reportedly make ChatGPT "really good, like materially better."

Kevin Okemwa
Contributor

Kevin Okemwa is a seasoned tech journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya with lots of experience covering the latest trends and developments in the industry at Windows Central. With a passion for innovation and a keen eye for detail, he has written for leading publications such as OnMSFT, MakeUseOf, and Windows Report, providing insightful analysis and breaking news on everything revolving around the Microsoft ecosystem. You'll also catch him occasionally contributing at iMore about Apple and AI. While AFK and not busy following the ever-emerging trends in tech, you can find him exploring the world or listening to music.