OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has sharply criticized Anthropic's depiction of how advertisements might influence ChatGPT, labeling their portrayal as "clearly dishonest."
In a Wednesday X post, Altman directly addressed Anthropic's recent Super Bowl advertising campaign, reiterating his strong disapproval. He characterized the OpenAI competitor's campaign as not only "clearly dishonest" but also "on brand" for Anthropic to engage in "doublespeak." Altman asserted, "We would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them," adding, "We are not stupid and we know our users would reject that."
Anthropic, established in 2021 by former OpenAI research executives reportedly due to disagreements regarding AI safety and mission, refrained from explicitly naming OpenAI or ChatGPT in its Super Bowl Sunday advertisement. However, the campaign implicitly contrasted with OpenAI's January announcement of upcoming ad testing, with Anthropic stating, "Our users won’t see ‘sponsored’ links adjacent to their conversations with Claude; nor will Claude’s responses be influenced by advertisers or include third-party product placements our users did not ask for."
OpenAI has clarified that its experimental ad placements will be limited to logged-in users with free or ChatGPT Go accounts. The company firmly maintains that "Ads do not influence the answers ChatGPT gives you. Answers are optimized based on what’s most helpful to you. Ads are always separate and clearly labeled." In contrast to Anthropic's messaging, Altman described OpenAI's own Super Bowl ad as being "about builders, and how anyone can now build anything."
Transitioning to his broader commentary, Altman began by acknowledging a positive aspect of Anthropic's advertisements, stating, "First, the good part of the Anthropic ads: they are funny, and I laughed."
He then questioned Anthropic's approach, remarking, "But I wonder why Anthropic would go for something so clearly dishonest." Altman emphasized OpenAI's core principle regarding advertising, explaining, "Our most important principle for ads says that we won’t do exactly this; we would obviously never run ads in the way Anthropic depicts them. We are not stupid and we know our users would reject that."
Altman expressed his surprise at the platform chosen for Anthropic's message, noting, "I guess it’s on brand for Anthropic doublespeak to use a deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren’t real, but a Super Bowl ad is not where I would expect it."
Shifting focus to OpenAI's mission, Altman underscored their commitment to universal AI access, stating, "More importantly, we believe everyone deserves to use AI and are committed to free access, because we believe access creates agency." He highlighted the scale of OpenAI's reach, revealing, "More Texans use ChatGPT for free than total people use Claude in the US, so we have a differently-shaped problem than they do." He also clarified that paying subscribers to ChatGPT Plus or Pro do not encounter advertisements.
Altman further contrasted the companies' approaches to market segmentation, observing that "Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people." While acknowledging OpenAI also caters to premium users, he stressed, "we also feel strongly that we need to bring AI to billions of people who can’t pay for subscriptions."
He then raised significant concerns about Anthropic's perceived desire for control over AI utilization. Altman claimed that "Anthropic wants to control what people do with AI—they block companies they don’t like from using their coding product (including us), they want to write the rules themselves for what people can and can’t use AI for, and now they also want to tell other companies what their business models can be."
In direct opposition to this, Altman outlined OpenAI's dedication to "broad, democratic decision making" alongside widespread access. He affirmed their commitment to fostering "the most resilient ecosystem for advanced AI," and emphasized their deep concern for "safe, broadly beneficial AGI," noting that achieving this requires collaborative global preparation.
He issued a stark warning about the potential dangers of a singular entity dictating the future of AI, stating, "One authoritarian company won’t get us there on their own, to say nothing of the other obvious risks. It is a dark path."
Turning attention back to OpenAI's own Super Bowl advertisement, Altman reiterated its core message: "it’s about builders, and how anyone can now build anything."
Altman expressed enthusiasm for the adoption of OpenAI's coding product, Codex, noting, "We are enjoying watching so many people switch to Codex." He proudly announced "500,000 app downloads since launch on Monday," predicting that "builders are really going to love what’s coming in the next few weeks," and confidently declared, "I believe Codex is going to win."
He concluded by reaffirming OpenAI's ongoing commitment to innovation and accessibility: "We will continue to work hard to make even more intelligence available for lower and lower prices to our users."
His statement culminated with a powerful declaration: "This time belongs to the builders, not the people who want to control them."
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