OpenAI announced significant enhancements to its flagship chatbot, ChatGPT, unveiling improvements in voice, text, and vision capabilities, along with the launch of a new desktop app. Mira Murati, OpenAI’s chief technology officer, highlighted that the latest large language model, GPT-4o, empowers developers and users to engage in real-time conversations across speech, text, video, and audio, with these capabilities accessible to all users.
CEO Sam Altman emphasized the company’s commitment to democratizing AI tools, stating their intent to offer exceptional AI services for free while exploring monetization avenues elsewhere. Despite speculations about potential collaborations with Apple and a Google-rivaling search engine feature, Altman clarified that these were not part of the current announcement.
While some analysts perceive OpenAI’s advancements as playing catch-up to competitors like Google, Altman and Murati expressed enthusiasm about the transformative impact of the new features, particularly the voice and video mode, which Altman likened to science fiction AI. The updated model promises improved speed across multiple languages, with enhanced accessibility for developers through OpenAI’s API. Additionally, demonstrations showcased the model’s ability to discern emotional states, provide guidance on breathing techniques, assist with coding and math, alluding to potential future integrations with platforms like Apple’s operating system.
