The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Robert Cyran
NEW YORK, Dec 2 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Sam Altman broke the glass at OpenAI. What's more important is if the artificial intelligence juggernaut responds to the emergency or treats it as a false alarm.
The CEO of ChatGPT's developer issued a “code red" in a memo to staff, aiming to marshal resources to improve the centerpiece chatbot after Google’s Gemini 3 wowed users on benchmark tests. Altman said the company would temporarily set aside initiatives like advertising, AI agents and a personal assistant.
OpenAI clearly would benefit from greater focus. On the same day Altman's internal missive zinged around, including to journalists on the sly, OpenAI said it had taken an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings, a firm created by Josh Kushner's Thrive Capital to buy companies and enhance their AI capabilities. It also unveiled a collaboration with consultancy Accenture ACN.N and new tools for kids to enjoy the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s Santa Claus tracker.
Such endeavors may not necessarily be important or costly. They do, however, add to the impression that OpenAI is trying to do too much at once with technology that still requires a great deal of development and funding. Altman has inked a slew of deals, like buying iPhone designer Jony Ive’s startup at a $6.5 billion valuation and rolling out the $500 billion Stargate supercomputer project. The only thing bigger than the company’s attention deficit is its appetite for capital.
Simply pressing the panic button isn't enough, however. For one thing, it's essential to accurately diagnose the problem. Microsoft MSFT.O founder Bill Gates did so in a 1995 memo outlining how the internet was an inflection point for the software industry. Such prescience is uncommon from the C-suite, but it propelled the company into the browser market, even if it later led to time-consuming clashes with trustbusters.
The second issue is bringing attention and resources to bear. In 1941, British codebreakers, including the renowned Alan Turing, bypassed the chain of command and pleaded for resources from Prime Minister Winston Churchill. He officially responded, “Make sure they have all they want on extreme priority,” reinforced with a bureaucratically ominous “action this day” red sticker. The decisiveness helped win more battles. Companies like OpenAI, however, do not have the same expansive resources or equally dire consequences as motivation.
Silicon Valley nevertheless likes to talk about whether a leader is a “wartime CEO” willing to do what it takes to defeat rivals. OpenAI exhibited a killer instinct when it exposed vulnerabilities at Google, which prompted the web search giant's management to issue its own "code red" in late 2022. Altman's challenge now is to answer the bell himself.
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CONTEXT NEWS
Sam Altman told OpenAI employees on December 1 that the company had declared a “code red” to improve the quality of ChatGPT and delay other products, The Information reported, citing an internal memo.
Altman said initiatives such as advertising, AI agents and a personal assistant would be put on hold, according to the report. He added that the company had declared a "code orange" earlier to improve its chatbot.
OpenAI said On December 1 that it had taken an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings to accelerate business adoption of AI, would work with military warning organization NORAD by adding tools as part of the Santa Claus tracking program, teamed up with consultancy Accenture, and fund grants for new research on AI and mental health.
(Editing by Jeffrey Goldfarb; Production by Pranav Kiran)
((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on CYRAN/robert.cyran@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging: robert.cyran.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))