On November 30, 2024, ChatGPT will mark its two-year anniversary, prompting OpenAI founder Sam Altman to ponder a fitting celebration gift on X. Speculation surrounds a potential advanced language model, dubbed Orion, which may exceed current offerings like GPT-4o and GPT o1. While unverified claims suggest it could be significantly more powerful, Altman has disputed these reports, emphasizing the need for innovation amid competition in generative AI. The actual gift will be revealed soon.
Mark your calendars for November 30, 2024, as ChatGPT approaches its second anniversary. Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, is anticipating this milestone. On October 22, he took to X (formerly Twitter) to muse about what kind of birthday gift would be fitting for the occasion.
Could he be hinting at the unveiling of a new, more sophisticated language model than any released to date? This is the scenario proposed by The Verge in an article from October 25, which Sam Altman quickly countered on social media by stating, “fake news is getting out of hand.“
The publication suggests that a groundbreaking new language model (LLM) is in the works, referred to as a “frontier model.” According to OpenAI, such models are “very powerful” and could pose “serious risks” if not handled correctly.
The intriguing project, named Orion, could potentially surpass OpenAI’s latest iterations of generative AI, including GPT-4o (launched in May 2024) and GPT o1 (released in September 2024).
Possible Connections to GPT-5
The way The Verge discusses this project—albeit indirectly contested by Sam Altman—might lead some to speculate about GPT-5, which is anticipated to replace GPT-4, originally released in March 2023. There have been various hints about its forthcoming capabilities, and OpenAI’s leadership has occasionally provided insights into future developments.
Since the debut of GPT-4 in March 2023, OpenAI has made significant advancements, introducing more refined versions of its technologies over the year, including 4o and o1. To remain competitive in the generative AI landscape, OpenAI must continue evolving its offerings, especially as rivals enhance their own tools.
GPT-4 marked OpenAI’s entry into the realm of multimodality, which refers to the capability of processing diverse types of data—text, images, video, and audio. This system can take input in one format and produce output in another (for instance, turning text into an image).
At present, the details surrounding the Orion project remain speculative. Reports suggest it could be a hundred times more powerful than GPT-4—an enticing claim that encapsulates impressive figures but remains to be demonstrated practically within the chatbot’s functionality.
For strategic marketing reasons, it’s plausible that OpenAI might opt to categorize this Orion project under the GPT-5 banner. Whether Sam Altman’s anticipated gift aligns with this prospect or entails something entirely different will soon be revealed, as we approach the end of November.