Sam Altman has just posted a reflective blog post in which he says that these years have been the most rewarding, most interesting, best, most interesting, most exhausting, most intense of his life so far, especially the last two years - the most unpleasant years, Now that OpenAI has figured out how to achieve AGI as traditionally defined, OpenAI is turning to an even more ambitious goal: superintelligence.

The following is the full text to share with you

Sam Altman

Sam Altman

Reflections

reflection

The second birthday of ChatGPT was only a little over a month ago, and now we have transitioned into the next paradigm of models that can do complex reasoning. New years get people in a reflective mood, and I wanted to share some personal thoughts about how it has gone so far, and some of the things I’ve learned along the way.

ChatGPT's second birthday is just over a month old, and now we've transitioned to the next model paradigm, which can do complex reasoning. The New Year is a time for reflection, and I wanted to share a few personal thoughts about the progress so far, and some things I've learned along the way.

As we get closer to AGI, it feels like an important time to look at the progress of our company. There is still so much to understand, still so much we don’t know, and it’s still so early. But we know a lot more than we did when we started.

As we get closer to AGI, I feel it is a good time to review the progress of our company. There's still a lot to understand, there's still a lot we don't know, it's still early days. But we know a lot more than we did when we started.

We started OpenAI almost nine years ago because we believed that AGI was possible, and that it could be the most impactful technology in human history. We wanted to figure out how to build it and make it broadly beneficial; we were excited to try to make our mark on history. Our ambitions were extraordinarily high and so was our belief that the work might benefit society in an equally extraordinary way.

We founded OpenAI nearly nine years ago because we believed that AGI was possible and that it could be the most impactful technology in human history. We want to figure out how to build it and make it broadly beneficial; We're excited to try and make our mark on history. Our ambitions are extraordinarily high, and we share the conviction that this work may benefit society in equally extraordinary ways.

At the time, very few people cared, and if they did, it was mostly because they thought we had no chance of success.

At the time, few people cared, if any, mostly because they didn't think we had a chance of success.

In 2022, OpenAI was a quiet research lab working on something temporarily called "Chat With GPT-3.5." (We are much better at research than we are at naming things.) We had been watching people use the playground feature of our API and knew that developers were really enjoying talking to the model. We thought building a demo around that experience would show people something important about the future and help us make our models better and safer.

In 2022, OpenAI was still a quiet institute working on a project temporarily called "Chatting with GPT-3.5." (We're much better at research than we are at naming.) We've been watching people use the playground features of our API and know that developers really enjoy talking to models. We think building a demo around this experience will show people some important information about the future and help us make our model better and safer."

We ended up mercifully calling it ChatGPT instead, and launched it on November 30th of 2022.

We eventually named it ChatGPT, and it was released on November 30, 2022.

We always knew, abstractly, that at some point we would hit a tipping point and the AI revolution would get kicked off. But we didn’t know what the moment would be. To our surprise, it turned out to be this.

We always knew abstractly that at some point we would reach a tipping point and the AI revolution would begin. But we don't know what that moment will be. To our surprise, this is the result.

The launch of ChatGPT kicked off a growth curve like nothing we have ever seen—in our company, our industry, and the world broadly. We are finally seeing some of the massive upside we have always hoped for from AI, and we can see how much more will come soon.

The launch of ChatGPT kicked off a growth curve we've never seen before - in our company, our industry, and the world at large. We're finally seeing some of the great benefits we've been hoping for from AI, and we can see more coming soon.

It hasn’t been easy. The road hasn’t been smooth and the right choices haven’t been obvious.

It won't be easy. The path is not easy, and the right choice is not obvious.

In the last two years, we had to build an entire company, almost from scratch, around this new technology. There is no way to train people for this except by doing it, and when the technology category is completely new, there is no one at all who can tell you exactly how it should be done.

In the last two years, we've had to build an entire company from scratch around this new technology. There's no way to train people to do it other than hands-on, and when the technology category is brand new, there's simply no one who can tell you exactly how you should do it.

Building up a company at such high velocity with so little training is a messy process. It’s often two steps forward, one step back (and sometimes, one step forward and two steps back). Mistakes get corrected as you go along, but there aren’t really any handbooks or guideposts when you’re doing original work. Moving at speed in uncharted waters is an incredible experience, but it is also immensely stressful for all the players. Conflicts and misunderstanding abound.

Building a company at such a high rate, but with so little training, is a messy process. It's usually two steps forward, one back (and sometimes one step forward, two steps back). Mistakes will be corrected as you go along, but there really isn't any manual or guide when you're doing original work. Moving quickly through uncharted waters is an incredible experience, but it's also incredibly stressful for all involved. Conflicts and misunderstandings abound.

These years have been the most rewarding, fun, best, interesting, exhausting, stressful, and—particularly for the last two—unpleasant years of my life so far. The overwhelming feeling is gratitude; I know that someday I’ll be retired at our ranch watching the plants grow, a little bored, and will think back at how cool it was that I got to do the work I dreamed of since I was a little kid. I try to remember that on any given Friday, when seven things go badly wrong by 1 pm.

These years have been by far the most rewarding, the most interesting, the best, the most interesting, the most exhausting, the most intense of my life, and especially the last two years - the most unpleasant years. The overwhelming feeling is gratitude; I know that one day I'll retire on our ranch, watching the plants grow, a little bored, and will reflect on how cool it was that I was able to do the job I dreamed of doing since I was a kid. I try to remember this on any given Friday when seven things go terribly wrong before 1 p.m.

A little over a year ago, on one particular Friday, the main thing that had gone wrong that day was that I got fired by surprise on a video call, and then right after we hung up the board published a blog post about it. I was in a hotel room in Las Vegas. It felt, to a degree that is almost impossible to explain, like a dream gone wrong.

A little over a year ago, on a particular Friday, the main issue that happened that day was that I was accidentally fired during a video call, and then right after we hung up, the board posted a blog post about it. I was in a hotel room in Las Vegas. It feels like a nightmare, the extent of which is almost impossible to explain.

Getting fired in public with no warning kicked off a really crazy few hours, and a pretty crazy few days. The “fog of war” was the strangest part. None of us were able to get satisfactory answers about what had happened, or why.

The public dismissal, without warning, triggered a very crazy few hours, and a pretty crazy few days. The "fog of war" is the strangest part. None of us have been able to get satisfactory answers about what happened or why.

The whole event was, in my opinion, a big failure of governance by well-meaning people, myself included. Looking back, I certainly wish I had done things differently, and I’d like to believe I’m a better, more thoughtful leader today than I was a year ago.

In my view, the whole episode was a monumental failure of governance by people of good will, including me. In retrospect, I certainly wish I had done things differently, and I'd like to believe I'm a better, more thoughtful leader today than I was a year ago.

I also learned the importance of a board with diverse viewpoints and broad experience in managing a complex set of challenges. Good governance requires a lot of trust and credibility. I appreciate the way so many people worked together to build a stronger system of governance for OpenAI that enables us to pursue our mission of ensuring that AGI benefits all of humanity.

I also learned the importance of having a board with diverse perspectives and broad experience in managing a complex set of challenges. Good governance requires a lot of trust and credibility. I am grateful that so many people have worked together to build a stronger governance system for OpenAI that will allow us to pursue our mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity."

My biggest takeaway is how much I have to be thankful for and how many people I owe gratitude towards: to everyone who works at OpenAI and has chosen to spend their time and effort going after this dream, to friends who helped us get through the crisis moments, to our partners and customers who supported us and entrusted us to enable their success, and to the people in my life who showed me how much they cared. [1]

My biggest takeaway is how grateful I am, and how many people I have to thank: everyone who works at OpenAI for choosing to spend their time and energy chasing this dream; Thanks to the friends who help us through the crisis; Thank you to the partners and customers who have supported us and entrusted us to help them succeed; Thank you to the people in my life who have shown me how much they care about me. [1]

We all got back to the work in a more cohesive and positive way and I’m very proud of our focus since then. We have done what is easily some of our best research ever. We grew from about 100 million weekly active users to more than 300 million. Most of all, we have continued to put technology out into the world that people genuinely seem to love and that solves real problems.

We all came back to work in a more cohesive and positive way and I'm very proud of our focus since then. We've done some of the best research ever done. We've grown from about 100 million weekly active users to more than 300 million. Most importantly, we continue to bring technology to the world that people really love and solve real problems.

Nine years ago, we really had no idea what we were eventually going to become; even now, we only sort of know. AI development has taken many twists and turns and we expect more in the future.

Nine years ago, we really didn't know where we were going to end up; Even now, we only have a rough idea. The development of artificial intelligence has gone through many twists and turns, and we expect more to come.

Some of the twists have been joyful; some have been hard. It’s been fun watching a steady stream of research miracles occur, and a lot of naysayers have become true believers. We’ve also seen some colleagues split off and become competitors. Teams tend to turn over as they scale, and OpenAI scales really fast. I think some of this is unavoidable—startups usually see a lot of turnover at each new major level of scale, and at OpenAI numbers go up by orders of magnitude every few months. The last two years have been like a decade at a normal company. When any company grows and evolves so fast, interests naturally diverge. And when any company in an important industry is in the lead, lots of people attack it for all sorts of reasons, especially when they are trying to compete with it.

Some twists and turns are pleasant; Some are tough. It has been interesting to watch a succession of research miracles happen and many naysayers turn into true believers. We have also seen some colleagues split and become competitors. Teams tend to turnover as they get bigger, and OpenAI is growing very fast. I think some of this is inevitable - startups typically see a lot of turnover at each new major scale level, and at OpenAI, the numbers increase by orders of magnitude every few months. The last two years have been like ten years at a regular company. When any company grows and evolves so quickly, interests naturally diverge. When a company in any significant industry takes the lead, a lot of people attack it for a variety of reasons, especially if they're trying to compete with it.

Our vision won’t change; our tactics will continue to evolve. For example, when we started we had no idea we would have to build a product company; we thought we were just going to do great research. We also had no idea we would need such a crazy amount of capital. There are new things we have to go build now that we didn’t understand a few years ago, and there will be new things in the future we can barely imagine now.

Our vision will not change; Our strategy will continue to evolve. For example, when we started, we didn't know we had to build a product company; We thought we were just going to do great research. We didn't know we needed such crazy capital. Now we have to build something new that we didn't understand a few years ago, and there will be something new in the future that we can barely imagine now.

We are proud of our track-record on research and deployment so far, and are committed to continuing to advance our thinking on safety and benefits sharing. We continue to believe that the best way to make an AI system safe is by iteratively and gradually releasing it into the world, giving society time to adapt and co-evolve with the technology, learning from experience, and continuing to make the technology safer. We believe in the importance of being world leaders on safety and alignment research, and in guiding that research with feedback from real world applications.

We are proud of our track record in research and deployment to date and are committed to continuing to advance our thinking on security and benefit-sharing." We continue to believe that the best way to make AI systems safe is to iterate and gradually release them out into the world, giving society time to adapt and evolve with the technology, learn from experience, and continue to make the technology safer. We believe in the importance of being a world leader in security and alignment research and guide this research with feedback from real-world applications.

We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it. We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents “join the workforce” and materially change the output of companies. We continue to believe that iteratively putting great tools in the hands of people leads to great, broadly-distributed outcomes.

We are now confident that we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it. We believe that by 2025, we may see the first AI agents "join the workforce" and materially change the output of companies. We still believe that iteratively putting great tools into people's hands leads to great, widely distributed results.

We are beginning to turn our aim beyond that, to superintelligence in the true sense of the word. We love our current products, but we are here for the glorious future. With superintelligence, we can do anything else. Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity.

We're starting to look further afield, towards superintelligence in the true sense of the word. We love our current products, but we are here for a bright future. With superintelligence, we can do anything else. Superintelligent tools can dramatically accelerate scientific discovery and innovation far beyond what we can do on our own, thereby dramatically increasing abundance and prosperity.

This sounds like science fiction right now, and somewhat crazy to even talk about it. That’s alright—we’ve been there before and we’re OK with being there again. We’re pretty confident that in the next few years, everyone will see what we see, and that the need to act with great care, while still maximizing broad benefit and empowerment, is so important. Given the possibilities of our work, OpenAI cannot be a normal company.

It sounds like science fiction, and it's kind of crazy to even talk about it. That's okay - we've been through it before, and we can do it again. We are very confident that in the next few years, everyone will see what we see, and the need to be careful while still maximizing broad benefits and empowerment is so important. Given the possibilities of our work, OpenAI cannot be an ordinary company.

How lucky and humbling it is to be able to play a role in this work.

How fortunate and humbled to be able to play a role in this work.

(Thanks to Josh Tyrangiel for sort of prompting this. I wish we had had a lot more time.)

(Thanks to Josh Tyrangiel for some kind of tip. I wish we had more time.

[1]

There were a lot of people who did incredible and gigantic amounts of work to help OpenAI, and me personally, during those few days, but two people stood out from all others.

In those few days, there were a lot of people who did incredibly huge work to help OpenAI and me personally, but two people stood out more than others.

Ron Conway and Brian Chesky went so far above and beyond the call of duty that I’m not even sure how to describe it. I’ve of course heard stories about Ron’s ability and tenaciousness for years and I’ve spent a lot of time with Brian over the past couple of years getting a huge amount of help and advice.

What Ron Conway and Brian Chesky have done is so far beyond the call of duty that I don't even know how to describe it. Of course, I've been hearing about Ron's ability and tenacity for years, and I've spent a lot of time with Brian over the past few years, getting plenty of help and advice.

But there’s nothing quite like being in the foxhole with people to see what they can really do. I am reasonably confident OpenAI would have fallen apart without their help; they worked around the clock for days until things were done.

But there's nothing like being in the trenches with people to see what they're really capable of. I have reason to believe that OpenAI would have collapsed without their help; They worked day and night for several days until the job was done.

Although they worked unbelievably hard, they stayed calm and had clear strategic thought and great advice throughout. They stopped me from making several mistakes and made none themselves. They used their vast networks for everything needed and were able to navigate many complex situations. And I’m sure they did a lot of things I don’t know about.

Although they work incredibly hard, they remain calm and always have clear strategic thinking and excellent advice. They prevented me from making a few mistakes, while they didn't make any themselves. They did everything needed with their vast network and were able to handle many complex situations. I'm sure they did a lot of things I didn't know about.

What I will remember most, though, is their care, compassion, and support.

But what I remember most is their care, compassion and support.

I thought I knew what it looked like to support a founder and a company, and in some small sense I did. But I have never before seen, or even heard of, anything like what these guys did, and now I get more fully why they have the legendary status they do. They are different and both fully deserve their genuinely unique reputations, but they are similar in their remarkable ability to move mountains and help, and in their unwavering commitment in times of need. The tech industry is far better off for having both of them in it.

I thought I knew what it was like to support founders and companies, and in a sense, I did. But I had never seen or even heard of anything like what these men did before, and now I understood more fully why they had legendary status. They are different, and both fully deserve their truly unique reputations, but they are similar in their extraordinary ability to move mountains and help and their unwavering commitment when needed. The tech industry is better off with both of them.

There are others like them; it is an amazingly special thing about our industry and does much more to make it all work than people realize. I look forward to paying it forward.

There are others like them; It's a very special thing about our industry that makes it all work more than people realize. I look forward to passing it on.

On a more personal note, thanks especially to Ollie for his support that weekend and always; he is incredible in every way and no one could ask for a better partner.

On a more personal note, a special thank you to Ollie for his support over the weekend and throughout; He was incredible in every way and no one could have asked for a better partner.