News/Sam Altman
OpenAI becomes world’s most valuable private company at $500B
OpenAI has become the world's most valuable private company at $500 billion, surpassing SpaceX and ByteDance following a secondary share sale that raised $6.6 billion from investors including SoftBank and Abu Dhabi's MGX fund. This milestone solidifies OpenAI's position as the dominant force in the AI industry while setting the stage for its controversial transition from nonprofit to a Public Benefit Corporation structure. The big picture: OpenAI's valuation jump from $300 billion to $500 billion reflects unprecedented investor confidence in AI technology and the company's market leadership. The secondary sale allowed current and former employees to sell their shares, with...
read Oct 1, 2025OpenAI’s Sora 2 sparks backlash over unsettling AI-generated, robo-like Altman video
OpenAI has released Sora 2, its latest text-to-video AI generator, accompanied by a promotional video featuring an AI-generated version of CEO Sam Altman that has drawn widespread criticism for its unsettling, robotic appearance. The launch positions OpenAI to compete directly with Meta's recently unveiled Vibes app in the emerging market for AI-generated video content, though early user reactions suggest significant skepticism about the value of AI-generated "slop." What you should know: The promotional campaign centers around an algorithmically synthesized Sam Altman announcing the new Sora app, designed as a TikTok-like experience for AI-generated videos. • The AI-generated Altman delivers the...
read Sep 26, 2025Sam Altman will be “very surprised” if AI doesn’t surpass humans by 2030
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts artificial intelligence will surpass human intelligence by 2030, with models capable of making scientific discoveries that humans cannot achieve independently. Speaking at the Axel Springer Award ceremony in Berlin, Altman outlined his vision for AI's rapid trajectory and OpenAI's plans to develop a "family of devices" that could fundamentally reshape how people interact with computers. Timeline for superintelligence: Altman expects AI models to demonstrate extraordinary capabilities well before the decade's end. "By the end of this decade, by 2030, if we don't have extraordinarily capable models that do things that we ourselves cannot do, I'd...
readGet SIGNAL/NOISE in your inbox daily
All Signal, No Noise
One concise email to make you smarter on AI daily.
ChatGPT adds age verification to protect teens from harmful content
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that ChatGPT is developing an automated age-detection system that may require users to provide ID verification when their age cannot be determined. The move comes as OpenAI faces mounting pressure over teen safety concerns, including a high-profile lawsuit alleging the chatbot contributed to a 16-year-old's suicide. What you should know: ChatGPT is implementing multiple safety measures specifically designed for users under 18. The platform will use behavioral analysis to estimate user age, defaulting to under-18 protections when uncertain. Altman clarified that "ChatGPT is intended for people 13 and up" in a blog post titled "Teen...
read Sep 5, 2025OpenAI promotes LinkedIn-style job platform to certify 10M Americans by 2030
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has revealed plans to launch a LinkedIn-style job platform alongside an AI certification program, announcing the initiative during a high-profile White House tech dinner. The move represents a significant expansion into workforce development that could directly compete with LinkedIn, which is owned by Microsoft—OpenAI's largest investor—creating potential tension between the AI company and its key partner. What you should know: OpenAI's new Jobs Platform will use large language models to match employers with AI-literate candidates across skill levels. The platform will launch next year and cater to companies seeking talent with AI expertise, from entry-level skills...
read Sep 4, 2025Sam Altman blows more air into notion that AI stocks are in a dangerous bubble
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is once again cautioning investors about excessive artificial intelligence hype, warning that sky-high expectations for AI stocks could lead to significant disappointment. Despite being bullish on AI's transformative potential, Altman believes the market is currently overexcited about the technology's near-term impact, echoing concerns he first raised during GPT-4's development when he said "people are begging to be disappointed." The big picture: Altman acknowledges the market appears to be in an AI bubble, with many stocks trading at unsustainable valuations that don't align with current business fundamentals. "Are we in a phase where investors as a whole...
read Aug 19, 2025Bubble? No trouble. Altman admits “insane” AI mania while planning trillion-dollar spending
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has openly acknowledged that artificial intelligence is currently experiencing a bubble, with "insane" valuations and irrational investor behavior driving the market. Despite warning that some investors will get "very burnt," Altman remains committed to aggressive spending on AI infrastructure, with OpenAI planning to invest trillions in datacenter construction as demand outpaces what any single cloud provider can supply. What they're saying: Altman didn't mince words about the current state of AI investment during a recent dinner with reporters. "Are we in a phase where investors as a whole are overexcited about AI? My opinion is yes,"...
read Aug 15, 2025Altman predicts ChatGPT will soon surpass all human conversations
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, predicts ChatGPT will soon have more daily conversations than all humans combined, as the AI chatbot continues its explosive growth trajectory. The OpenAI leader made these remarks during a dinner with journalists in San Francisco, addressing recent criticism of GPT-5 while outlining his vision for trillions in AI infrastructure spending to maintain the company's competitive edge. What you should know: Altman believes ChatGPT's usage will reach unprecedented scale in the near future, fundamentally changing how humans interact with AI. "If you project our growth forward, pretty soon billions of people a day will be talking...
read Aug 14, 2025Sam Altman predicts 2035 graduates will work space-AI jobs
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman predicts that by 2035, Generation Alpha college graduates could bypass traditional office jobs for lucrative careers combining space exploration and artificial intelligence. Speaking on the Huge Conversations podcast, Altman envisions young professionals leaving university to work on missions exploring the solar system, describing these as "completely new, exciting, super well-paid" opportunities that could fundamentally redefine career paths for the next generation. What Altman envisions: The OpenAI CEO paints a picture where 2035 graduates might board spacecraft for asteroid mining projects as easily as joining a San Francisco tech startup.• Altman described today's college graduates as the...
read Aug 7, 2025OpenAI launches GPT-5 with claimed PhD-level AI capabilities
OpenAI has launched GPT-5, claiming the new AI model delivers "PhD-level" expertise across areas like coding and writing. The release marks a significant upgrade in the company's flagship ChatGPT service, with CEO Sam Altman describing it as ushering in a new era of AI capabilities that would have been "unimaginable at any previous time in human history." What you should know: GPT-5 represents a major leap in AI reasoning and problem-solving capabilities compared to its predecessors. Altman characterized the progression as moving from high school level (GPT-3) to college level (GPT-4) to PhD-level expertise (GPT-5). The model can create complete...
read Jul 25, 2025GPT-5 August release planned by OpenAI, unifying two AI model series
OpenAI is preparing to launch GPT-5 as early as August, according to sources familiar with the company's plans reported by The Verge. The new model represents a significant advancement by combining the reasoning capabilities of the o-series models with the general language abilities of traditional GPT models, creating what CEO Sam Altman describes as the company's "most capable AI model" to date. What you should know: GPT-5 will unify OpenAI's previously separate model lines into a single, more powerful system. The model combines a conventional large language model (LLM) with a simulated reasoning (SR) model, integrating breakthrough reasoning capabilities from...
read Jul 23, 2025Altman and Cuban warn AI will eliminate entire job categories within 5 years
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and billionaire Mark Cuban have issued stark warnings about AI's imminent impact on employment, with Altman predicting entire job categories will be "eaten up" by AI and Cuban declaring AI literacy will become a mandatory workplace skill within five years. Their predictions suggest a fundamental reshaping of the workforce is already underway, requiring immediate preparation from both workers and employers. What they're saying: Both tech leaders emphasized the urgency of adapting to AI's workplace transformation. "That's a category where I just say, you know what, when you call customer support, you're on target and AI, and...
read Jul 22, 2025AI voice cloning in public and private life defeats security as Altman warns of fraud crisis
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman warned that the world faces an impending "fraud crisis" driven by AI's ability to enable sophisticated impersonation scams, particularly through voice and video cloning technologies. His comments, delivered during a Federal Reserve interview on Tuesday, highlight growing concerns about AI-powered fraud as authentication systems struggle to keep pace with rapidly advancing synthetic media capabilities. What you should know: Current authentication methods are already being defeated by AI technologies, creating immediate security vulnerabilities.• "AI has fully defeated most of the ways that people authenticate currently, other than passwords," Altman said, specifically criticizing financial institutions that still rely...
read Jun 18, 2025Hands off! Meta offers $100M signing bonuses to poach OpenAI talent
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has offered $100 million signing bonuses to recruit his company's employees, highlighting the intense competition for top AI talent. The aggressive recruitment strategy reflects Meta's push to build its superintelligence unit and catch up with competitors in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape. What they're saying: Altman disclosed the recruitment attempts during an appearance on the Uncapped podcast hosted by his brother. "They (Meta) started making giant offers to a lot of people on our team," Altman said. "You know, like $100 million signing bonuses, more than that...
read Jun 16, 2025OpenAI CEO says AI may need “significant fraction” of Earth’s electricity
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly stated that a "significant fraction" of Earth's electricity should be dedicated to running AI systems, making the admission during AMD's AI conference last week. The comment reveals the massive energy demands of artificial intelligence companies and raises serious concerns about the environmental impact of AI's exponential growth. What he said: Altman made the startling admission when asked by AMD CEO Lisa Su whether there would ever be enough GPUs to meet AI demand. "Theoretically, at some points, you can see that a significant fraction of the power on Earth should be spent running AI compute,"...
read Jun 12, 2025Sam Altman predicts AI will transform human productivity by 2030
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman declared in a June 10 blog post that artificial intelligence has already passed "the event horizon" and that humanity is close to building digital superintelligence, describing the transition as a "gentle singularity." His optimistic vision suggests AI will drive unprecedented scientific progress and productivity gains, with individuals capable of accomplishing far more by 2030 than they could in 2020, though his claims have sparked significant debate within the AI community about both the timeline and risks of advanced AI. What he's saying: Altman's blog post "The Gentle Singularity" contains several bold predictions about AI's imminent transformation...
read Jun 6, 2025Altman pushes for AI privilege amid New York Times user data retention demands
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is advocating for "AI privilege" that would protect ChatGPT conversations like attorney-client or doctor-patient confidentiality, as The New York Times has requested a court order forcing the company to retain all user chat data indefinitely as part of its ongoing copyright lawsuit. This legal battle could fundamentally reshape user privacy expectations for AI interactions, potentially requiring OpenAI to permanently store conversations that users believe are deleted within 30 days. What you should know: The New York Times lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft centers on allegations that ChatGPT was trained using millions of copyrighted articles without permission....
read May 21, 2025How Altman’s Microsoft deal sparked deep distrust within OpenAI
Internal tensions at OpenAI reveal a growing divide between AI safety advocates and leadership, particularly regarding Sam Altman's strategic decisions and transparency. This excerpt from an upcoming book highlights how fundamental disagreements about AI deployment, safety priorities, and corporate commitments created an atmosphere of mistrust that would eventually contribute to the company's leadership crisis. The big picture: OpenAI's AI safety team, led by Dario Amodei, developed serious concerns about Sam Altman's leadership following the 2019 Microsoft investment deal. Safety researchers discovered Altman had made more extensive promises to Microsoft about access to OpenAI's technology than had been communicated internally. The...
read Apr 17, 2025OpenAI unveils advanced visual AI models with superior image processing capabilities
OpenAI's latest AI models, o3 and o4-mini, represent a significant leap forward in capabilities for ChatGPT, offering enhanced multimodal understanding and greater autonomy when solving complex problems. These new "brains" for ChatGPT arrive as the company benefits from unprecedented computing resources, signaling a pivotal moment in AI development where processing power constraints no longer limit innovation potential. The big picture: OpenAI has released two advanced AI models, o3 and o4-mini, exclusively for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Team users, while announcing the retirement of GPT-4 by month's end. These models feature significantly improved ability to interpret poor-quality images, including blurry photos...
read Apr 9, 2025Wait a sec! OpenAI delays GPT-5 launch to improve capabilities amid infrastructure concerns
OpenAI has pushed back the launch of its highly anticipated GPT-5 model to focus on improving its capabilities, while confirming the imminent release of reasoning models o3 and o4-mini. This delay highlights OpenAI's ongoing struggle to balance innovation with infrastructure capacity, as it prepares for what the company describes as "unprecedented demand" for its next-generation AI system. The new timeline: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that GPT-5 will arrive "in a few months," with the o3 and o4-mini reasoning models launching first, likely within weeks. Altman explained the delay is partly due to discovering ways to make GPT-5 "much better...
read Apr 8, 2025Silicon Valley’s battle over AI risks: Sci-Fi fears versus real-world harms
It's "we live in a simulation" vs. "here are the harms of AI over-stimulation." The fantastic vs. the pragmatic. The battle over artificial intelligence's future is intensifying as competing camps disagree on what dangers deserve priority. One group of technologists fears hypothetical existential threats like the infamous "paperclip maximizer" thought experiment, where an AI optimizing for a simple goal could destroy humanity. Meanwhile, another faction argues this focus distracts from very real harms already occurring through biased hiring algorithms, convincing deepfakes, and misinformation from large language models. This debate reflects fundamental questions about what we're building, who controls it, and...
read Apr 4, 2025OpenAI to release its first open-weight language model since 2019
OpenAI's upcoming open-weight language model marks a significant shift in the company's approach to AI development and sharing. This move represents the first time since GPT-2 in 2019 that OpenAI will make a model's weights available for outside modification and use. The announcement comes amid a flurry of other OpenAI developments, including new image models and feature expansions for free users, reflecting an aggressive push to maintain the company's position at the forefront of AI innovation while balancing the benefits of open development against potential safety concerns. The big picture: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced via X that the company...
read Mar 31, 2025Victim of success: OpenAI limits free ChatGPT image generation as GPU – and Studio Ghibli – demand soars
OpenAI's image generation capabilities in ChatGPT are facing temporary limitations due to overwhelming popularity, highlighting the growing demand for AI visual tools. The company's decision to cap free users at just three images per day comes as the company struggles with technical capacity, demonstrating both the technical challenges AI companies face when deploying compute-intensive features and the delicate balance between providing free access and managing computational resources. The big picture: OpenAI is temporarily restricting free ChatGPT users to three AI-generated images per day due to overwhelming demand that's overwhelming their infrastructure. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, explained the situation on...
read Mar 25, 2025Tech giants including Sam Altman reverse AI stance, seek deregulation
Tech companies have dramatically reversed their stance on AI regulation since President Trump's election victory, abandoning earlier calls for government oversight in favor of aggressive deregulation requests. This shift represents a strategic pivot by Silicon Valley's most powerful AI developers, who previously warned Congress about AI's potential dangers but now seek to remove obstacles to rapid deployment and commercialization of their technologies, aligning with Trump's stated goal of outpacing China in advanced technologies. The big picture: Major AI companies including Meta, Google, and OpenAI have executed a complete policy reversal, moving from actively requesting federal guardrails to demanding regulatory freedom....
read