Key Points
- OpenAI has indefinitely delayed the release of its new open AI model. The reason for the delay is to conduct more extensive safety testing.
- This is the second time the launch has been postponed; it was scheduled for next week.
- The open model is significant because developers would be able to download and run it themselves.
- The delay comes as competition in the open AI model space is heating up, with new models from rivals being released.
OpenAI is indefinitely delaying the release of its highly anticipated “open” AI model. CEO Sam Altman announced on Friday that the company is hitting the pause button for more safety testing, just a week before the model was expected to launch. This is the second time the release has been pushed back.
In a post on X, Altman explained that the team needs more time to review high-risk areas. “While we trust the community will build great things with this model, once weights are out, they can’t be pulled back,” he wrote. “This is new for us, and we want to get it right.”
This open model is a huge deal for the AI world. Unlike models like ChatGPT that you use through a website, this one is designed for developers to download and run on their computers freely. It was expected to be a major showcase of OpenAI’s power as it faces intense competition from rivals like Google, Anthropic, and Elon Musk’s xAI.
The delay comes at a tough time for OpenAI. Just this week, a Chinese AI startup called Moonshot AI launched its powerful open model that, on some tests, outperforms OpenAI’s best work. This puts even more pressure on OpenAI to deliver something spectacular and, more importantly, safe.
Company executives have hinted that the model is “phenomenal” and that they achieved something “unexpected and quite amazing” during its development. But for now, developers and AI enthusiasts will have to wait longer to see what that is.
