Sam Altman on the future and impact of AI during Stanford interview

Sam Altman, co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, recently spoke at Stanford about the future and impact of AI. He shared his insights on AI opportunities and risks and offered advice to aspiring AI entrepreneurs, emphasizing the importance of continued innovation and ethical considerations in the rapid development of AI.

He also gives his clear opinion on ChatGPT: "ChatGPT, with GPT-4 is "mildly embarrassing. It is the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again by a lot. But not for long'. Which makes it increasingly likely that the successor to GPT-4 will be launched in the near future. Rumors say that this is already scheduled to happen in the next few weeks/months and that this successor will certainly be 2x as good.

Interesting points from this interview:

1. Iterative Development: Altman believes in releasing new versions of AI models early and often to learn and improve quickly, even if these models are not yet perfect. "It's important to ship early and often, and we believe in iterative deployment."
2. Future of AI models: Future AI models such as GPT-5 and GPT-6 will be significantly smarter than their predecessors, which will have a major impact on technology and society. "ChatGPT, with GPT-4, is mildly embarrassing. GPT-4 is the dumbest model any of you will ever have to use again, by a lot." "GPT-5 is going to be a lot smarter than GPT-4. GPT-6 is going to be a lot smarter than GPT-5. And we are not near the top of this curve."
3. Impact of AI on society: AI is going to change the way we work, learn and solve problems. Altman emphasizes the need for responsible implementation to minimize negative impacts. "AI and surprise don't go well together. People don't want to be surprised; people want a gradual rollout and the ability to influence these systems." "All tech cycles are this way, right? But this one feels different. It feels bigger."
4. Personal Reflections: He also reflected on his own career and motivations, emphasizing the importance of resilience and adaptability in a rapidly changing world. "I think the main thing is when you've done it for a while, you know, you get to understand patterns ... you've seen it before."