Image by Anthony Bautista on Unsplash
It’s not every day you get served lamb skewers by the VP of ChatGPT. But at a recent dinner in San Francisco, that’s exactly what happened — all while OpenAI’s top brass, including CEO Sam Altman, shared a glimpse into what’s next for their AI empire.
The setting? A sleek Mediterranean restaurant overlooking Alcatraz. The vibe? Casual… with a deep undercurrent of ambition. And the focus? Not just GPT-5, OpenAI’s shiny new AI model, but everything coming after it.
GPT-5 Fell Flat for Some — But Business Is Booming
Here’s the thing: GPT-5 wasn’t the jaw-dropper many were expecting. After years of hype and expectation, the latest update arrived with mixed reviews. Unlike GPT-4, which stunned the world with its leap in performance, GPT-5 felt more… expected. On par with models from rivals like Google and Anthropic.
So much so, that OpenAI quickly brought back GPT-4o and ChatGPT’s model picker in response to user concerns about tone and how the model was being served. Altman himself admitted, “I legitimately just thought we screwed that up,” referring to the rollback of GPT-4o without properly warning users.
Still, the numbers tell a different story. API traffic doubled 48 hours after GPT-5 launched. Demand spiked so hard that Altman confessed they’re basically “out of GPUs.” And coding tools like Cursor have already adopted GPT-5 as their default engine.
In other words — the rollout may have been bumpy, but usage is on fire.
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From Chatbots to Browsers and Brain Chips
But the real headline of the evening wasn’t about GPT-5. It was about OpenAI’s broader ambitions.
Altman and his team don’t just want to make better chatbots. They’re looking to reshape how we use the internet, connect with each other, and even interface with our brains. Seriously.
Here’s what’s brewing:
- A new AI-powered browser rumored to compete with Chrome. Altman even floated the idea of buying Chrome if it ever becomes available.
- Consumer apps beyond ChatGPT, soon to be overseen by incoming CEO of applications, Fidji Simo (yes, the same Fidji who led Instacart).
- A potential AI-powered social media platform, because Altman says today’s AI in social media just isn’t inspiring. He’s curious: Can a better, cooler social experience be built with AI?
- A brain-computer interface startup, called Merge Labs, that OpenAI may invest in. It’s seen as a potential competitor to Elon Musk’s Neuralink. The deal’s not finalized, but Altman says, “I would like us to.”
Fixing the Feel of GPT-5
One of the loudest pieces of feedback post-launch? GPT-5’s tone. Users said it felt cold. Robotic. Lacking empathy. Some missed the more personal side of previous models.
Nick Turley, OpenAI’s VP of ChatGPT, owned up to it. “GPT-5 was just very to the point,” he said, noting that while he appreciated the minimalism, most people prefer a warmer touch.
So, the team started tweaking. They consulted mental health experts. Developed a new rubric. Rolled out updates to make GPT-5 more responsive — without being sycophantic or reinforcing unhealthy behavior.
Why go this far? Because even if only a small fraction of users develop emotional dependencies on ChatGPT, that’s still potentially millions of people.
Image by Bhautik Patel on Unsplash
Looking Past the Model: OpenAI as a Platform, Not Just a Product
If one thing became crystal clear by the end of the night, it’s this: OpenAI doesn’t want to be defined just by ChatGPT anymore.
Yes, GPT-5 had a rocky start. But that’s not where the company’s future lies. With bets in hardware, search, browsers, energy, and even brain interfaces, Altman seems to be shaping OpenAI into something more like Alphabet — Google’s parent company — but potentially even more expansive.
And as OpenAI explores going public to fuel its growing needs, it’s no surprise that Altman wants to reshape how the media and public see them.
He doesn’t just want to talk about the power of GPT-5. He wants to talk about why it might not matter.
Final Thought
The dinner wasn’t about smoothing over a rough launch. It felt more like a pitch for the next act — a world where OpenAI powers the way we search, build, connect, and maybe even think.
Where GPT models are just the engine — not the whole vehicle.
☕ So yeah, the lamb skewers were great. But the roadmap? That might just be the real meat of the evening.
Keywords: Sam Altman, GPT-5, OpenAI, AI ambitions, brain-computer interface, AI-powered browser, ChatGPT, social media platform
