Sam Altman: ChatGPT to Out-Talk Humanity, Trillions for AI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has made a striking prediction: he believes ChatGPT is on track to facilitate more conversations daily than all human beings combined. Speaking at a dinner with journalists in San Francisco, Altman projected that if the company’s growth trajectory continues, billions of people will soon be interacting with ChatGPT every day, potentially leading the AI to engage in more dialogue than all human words put together. He acknowledged, however, that a single model personality or style would be insufficient to cater to such a vast user base.
These ambitious remarks followed a turbulent rollout for OpenAI’s highly anticipated new flagship model, GPT-5. Some users expressed dissatisfaction with the model’s perceived shift in its conversational style, finding it less friendly and supportive than its predecessor. As part of the GPT-5 launch, OpenAI initially removed user access to the prior model, GPT-4o, a decision it quickly reversed after prompting a user outcry.
ChatGPT, which emerged in November 2022 with little initial fanfare, rapidly ascended to become the fastest-growing tech product in history. Its remarkable capacity to mimic human communication and solve complex problems ignited widespread hope for the eventual creation of machines as intelligent as humans. Altman conceded that OpenAI had acknowledged a misstep with the latest release, having underestimated how a change in the model’s tone would affect consumers. He indicated that greater customization options would be integrated into ChatGPT in the near future, emphasizing the necessity of diverse product offerings to accommodate an extremely wide range of use cases and individual preferences.
When questioned about the possibility of an “AI bubble,” Altman unhesitatingly affirmed its existence, but swiftly added that this hardly diminishes the underlying technology’s transformative potential. He drew parallels to historical bubbles, such as the dot-com era, where despite speculative excesses, the core technology—like the internet itself—proved genuinely significant and impactful.
Looking ahead, Altman revealed that OpenAI anticipates spending trillions of dollars on data centers alone in the “not very distant future.” He anticipated that economists would express skepticism and concern over such seemingly reckless expenditure, but maintained that the company intends to press forward with its plans. When pressed on how OpenAI plans to secure such monumental funding, Altman offered a tantalizing hint, suggesting the company is working on designing a novel financial instrument for financing computing power, something the world has not yet conceived.
He also acknowledged that not all substantial AI investments would yield success, drawing a comparison to the dot-com boom where some investors faced significant losses as internet infrastructure was being built out. OpenAI recently secured $40 billion in funding at the end of March, propelling the company’s valuation to $300 billion in its quest to achieve Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Should the company proceed with a rumored stock sale, which would allow employees to convert their shares into cash, OpenAI’s valuation could further inflate to $500 billion. Altman concluded by stating that while some individuals are bound to lose substantial sums of money, and many others will make a phenomenal amount, his personal belief, though he admits he could be wrong, is that the overall impact on the economy will be a significant net positive.