So that type of training requires a lot of computational power because you're running the algorithm on billions of pages of text on the internet. It's these advanced AI algorithms that can become smarter by reading billions of pages of human texts and then mimicking human responses based off pattern recognition to different questions that a human ask them. Can you tell us a little bit about that shift and why it was made?īerber Jin: According to the OpenAI co-founders, what they realized in 2017, 2 years after the lab started was that the best way to make progress in AI was through large language models, which is the technology underpinning ChatGPT. Zoe Thomas: When OpenAI started it was this nonprofit, now it has a for-profit wing to it. And so in 2015, he decided to co-found this nonprofit called OpenAI, primarily alongside Elon Musk. AI fit into that bucket of really advanced technology that he wanted to develop. And I think he's a bit different from other startup founders, he cares a lot about frontier technology, nuclear fusion, human longevity. He had always been fascinated by computers as a kid. And I think Sam shared in the concern of AI's misuse. Zoe Thomas: How did he come to co-found OpenAI?īerber Jin: Around 2014/2015, that was a time when a lot of people in Silicon Valley, including Elon Musk, were going very concerned about the dystopian potential of AI. It actually sold for close to the amount of money that investors put into the company. And then before that, he dropped out of Stanford to create a social networking startup called Loopt, which wasn't very successful. And it's because he ran this startup accelerator called Y Combinator, which essentially accepts mostly college students who are applying to create companies, they want to create the next Dropbox, they want to create the next Uber. Zoe Thomas: Can you give us a little background on Sam Altman, who was he before OpenAI?īerber Jin: He's a very Silicon Valley type of figure. I'm Zoe Thomas from the Wall Street Journal, and with me now is WSJ reporter, Berber Jin who spoke to Altman about OpenAI and how he's balancing business concerns. He's been a figure in Silicon Valley for years as a founder and an investor, but now Altman is at the center of one of the fastest-developing technologies that's raising both excitement and concern.

Zoe Thomas: Sam Altman is the 37-year-old co-founder of OpenAI, the startup behind ChatGPT and DALL This version may not be in its final form and may be updated. This transcript was prepared by a transcription service.

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