ChatGPT at two — and OpenAI’s vision for the future

Two years after OpenAI launched ChatGPT, the groundbreaking AI chatbot continues to reshape the technology landscape, accelerate economic growth, and spark debates about the future of artificial intelligence.

Since its debut on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT has propelled the tech sector into a new era. With over 250 million weekly active users, OpenAI’s chatbot has become a global phenomenon. Its success has contributed to OpenAI’s $157 billion valuation and a surge in AI-related startups, which now account for 35% of all venture capital investments in 2024, reports Semafor.

AI chipmaker Nvidia has also emerged as a key player, becoming one of the world’s top three most valuable companies. Nvidia’s CEO likened ChatGPT’s release to the “iPhone moment” of AI, heralding a transformative shift in user expectations.

Despite its successes, the rise of AI has not been without controversy. Concerns about job displacement, societal impact, and the significant energy demands of AI systems have fuelled heated debates. Still, fears of apocalyptic scenarios have largely subsided as attention shifts to practical applications and sustainability.

Economic boom and growing investments

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has positioned the company as a leader in the “Intelligence Age, with ambitious plans to reach 1 billion users by 2025, reports the Financial Times. OpenAI is investing heavily in new products, such as AI-powered “agents” and its own search engine, while expanding partnerships, including with Apple, to integrate ChatGPT into billions of devices. To support this growth, OpenAI plans to invest in new data centres across the US Midwest and Southwest, following the path of tech giants like Google and Amazon.

The AI industry’s growth is staggering. UBS predicts its value will increase 15-fold from $28 billion in 2022 to $420 billion by 2027. The six largest tech firms — Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia — have collectively gained $8 trillion in market value since 2022.

OpenAI’s financial pressures

However, OpenAI itself faces financial pressures. Despite generating monthly revenue of $300 million in August – a 1,700% increase from early 2023 – OpenAI continues to operate at a loss, spending over $5 billion annually on AI model development.

Spending freely, with towering ambitions, OpenAI has transformed rapidly in the 12 months since Altman was ousted by the company’s board, and then subsequently reinstated as chief executive in November last year. It has increased its workforce fivefold to more than 2,000 people and is transitioning from a non-profit to a for-profit business model.

“The newer recruits say they are still guided by OpenAI’s “mission” of building and distributing artificial general intelligence — software with cognitive capabilities superior to humans — but are tasked with deploying real-world utility in the near-term” – “products that are actually useful for people”, reports the Financial Times.

Political and regulatory challenges

The political landscape surrounding AI remains complex. While outgoing President Biden established initial AI safety standards through executive order, President-elect Trump’s approach to regulation remains uncertain. Elon Musk, who owns AI company xAI and is helping Trump select an “AI czar,” may influence future policy directions. Recently, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, accusing CEO Sam Altman of “deceit of Shakespearean proportions”.

The road ahead

Despite the conflict with Musk, OpenAI policy chief Chris Lehane says his company and the incoming Trump administration fundamentally agree on AI’s importance in national security and economic competitiveness.

Lehane wants OpenAI to take the lead in building a US-led “democratic” AI at scale, compared to a Chinese-led version of the technology.

The next chapter for AI may require breakthroughs beyond large-language models. Industry experts, including AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li, suggest the future lies in “large world models” that can both see and understand how the world works.

“Imagine robots that can navigate ordinary homes and look after old people,” Fei-Fei Li wrote in the Economist, conjuring the possible applications of “large world models”. “This is truly human-centred AI, and spatial intelligence is its next frontier. What took hundreds of millions of years to evolve in humans is taking just decades to emerge in computers. And we humans will be the beneficiaries,” she added.