More people continue to jump on the artificial intelligence bandwagon each day, according to Sam Altman. The OpenAI CEO, during an appearance at The New York Times’ Dealbook Conference on Wednesday, said its ChatGPT chatbot now has 300 million weekly users.
That figure indicates ChatGPT’s user base has tripled since November 2023, when the company said it hit 100 million users. OpenAI also added its latest 100 million users pretty quickly, considering the company said it had passed the 200 million user milestone back in August.
ChatGPT is jockeying for AI dominance with a number of other high profile chatbots, including X’s Grok, Google Gemini, and Meta’s AI chatbot, which is featured on Facebook and Instagram.
Altman touched on a number of topics during his conversation with The Times’ Andrew Ross Sorkin. When it comes to artificial general intelligence, where AI can perform tasks at a human level or better, Altman said he believes the shock to the general public will be “more intense than people think.”
He also said AI will upend the creator economy — something that will require a “new deal” or protocol for “how creators are going to get rewarded.” He added: “We need to have new economic models where creators can earn revenue streams.”
Altman was also asked about Elon Musk, the Tesla and X boss who has been critical of OpenAI since stepping down from its board in 2018.
Musk joked it should change its name to “ClosedAI” in March due to its move away from its initial mission: providing open source AI technology that benefits everyone. And in September, Musk shared his displeasure with the news of OpenAI’s business restructuring — a move that made Altman’s slice of the company worth $10.5 billion.
“You can’t just convert a non-profit into a for-profit,” Musk posted on X. “That is illegal.”
On Wednesday, Altman said he’s not too worried about Musk going after OpenAI via his new role as the co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
“It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon has it to hurt your competitors,” Altman said. “I don’t think people would tolerate that [and] I don’t think Elon would do it.”
