After public backlash over GPT-5\u2019s rollout, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted the company \u201cscrewed up,\u201d and said the fallout is already shaping the next version of ChatGPT.<\/p>\n
At a private dinner with reporters in San Francisco, first reported<\/a> by The Verge, Altman admitted that GPT-5\u2019s launch<\/a> upset many of ChatGPT\u2019s hundreds of millions of users.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we totally screwed up some things on the rollout,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The misstep centered on OpenAI\u2019s decision to replace<\/a> ChatGPT\u2019s default \u201c4o\u201d model, which was widely praised for its warmth and conversational style, with GPT-5. User backlash on Reddit and X was swift, with some users threatening to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions. Following the backlash, OpenAI pushed an update that restored 4o as an option for paying subscribers.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve learned a lesson about what it means to upgrade a product for hundreds of millions of people in one day,\u201d Altman said, calling the reversal a wake-up call.<\/p>\n One lesson from GPT-5\u2019s launch is that people form emotional ties with AI, he noted. Some users described the new model as colder, more mechanical, and less supportive than its predecessor. After GPT-4o was deprecated, some Reddit users even said the upgrade \u201ckilled<\/a>\u201d their AI companions.<\/p>\n Despite the outcry on subreddits like r\/MyBoyfriendisAI, r\/AISoulmates, and r\/AIRelationships, Altman estimated that fewer than 1% of ChatGPT users have \u201cunhealthy relationships\u201d with the bot but said the company is paying close attention.<\/p>\n When the Love of Your Life Gets a Software Update<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere are the people who actually felt like they had a relationship with ChatGPT,\u201d Altman said. \u201cThen there are hundreds of millions of others who didn\u2019t but still got used to how it responded, validated them, and offered support.\u201d<\/p>\n The challenge for GPT-6, Altman suggested, will be making the system feel personal without exploiting vulnerable users.<\/p>\n While GPT-5 is still rolling out, Altman said that OpenAI is already looking ahead, noting the timeline between GPT-5 and 6 would be much shorter<\/a> than GPT-4 and 5. However, Altman said GPU capacity may impact that calculation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have better models, and we just can\u2019t offer them because we don\u2019t have the capacity,\u201d Altman admitted, citing a shortage of GPUs, the powerful chips needed to run large AI systems. To solve that, Altman said OpenAI would need to spend \u201ctrillions of dollars on data center construction in the not very distant future.\u201d<\/p>\n Altman also used the dinner to sketch a broader future for OpenAI, including backing a brain-computer interface startup to rival Elon Musk\u2019s Neuralink<\/a>. He also floated the idea of joining the escalating<\/a> bidding war for Google Chrome.<\/p>\n ChatGPT Cheat Sheet: Which OpenAI Model Should You Use?<\/a><\/p>\n