OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned that the artificial intelligence (AI) industry is entering a bubble phase, where investors are overhyping its potential and valuations are becoming irrational. Altman compared the current surge of excitement to the late-1990s dot-com boom, when investors piled into internet startups on the back of one undeniable fact: that the internet was a world-changing technology.
Altman expressed concerns about the industry’s growth, citing sky-high valuations for startups with little substance beyond a pitch deck. He warned that “someone’s gonna get burned” as the market corrects itself. However, Altman emphasized that OpenAI is pressing ahead at full speed, despite the bubble dynamics.
The CEO also discussed the challenges of updating a product used by hundreds of millions of people, such as ChatGPT-5. While acknowledging missteps in the rollout, Altman highlighted the upside potential of ChatGPT’s growth. He predicted that billions of people would be talking to ChatGPT soon and expressed confidence in its trajectory.
Altman also sketched out the next frontier for OpenAI, including brain-computer interfaces and a new computing paradigm. However, he did not rule out the possibility of an AI taking over as CEO in three years, highlighting the industry’s rapid evolution and potential risks.
The warning from Altman comes at a time when Wall Street strategists are sounding alarms about the market’s froth. Analysts have noted that the S&P 500’s price-to-book ratio has hit 5.3, topping dot-com levels, while forward P/Es hover around 1929 territory. Some experts predict that AI spending is already showing up in GDP and may become a lasting legacy like fiber-optic networks that survived the dot-com bust.
Overall, Altman’s candor matches the contradictions of today’s AI economy, where real products are being delivered alongside speculative mania. As the industry continues to evolve, it remains to be seen whether Altman’s warnings will prove prophetic or if the bubble will burst prematurely.
Source: https://qz.com/sam-altman-ai-bubble-open-ai-warning