Sam Altman calls on engineers to join OpenAI as ChatGPT usage surges
Altman didn’t give exact numbers but, in a recent conversation with TED’s Chris Anderson, he said ChatGPT was seeing rapid growth and that about 10 percent of the world is now using OpenAI’s tools.
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OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has put out a call on X (formerly Twitter) for engineers to join the company, especially those interested in building and running very large-scale computing systems. His appeal comes as ChatGPT usage has seen a massive spike, with the number of users reportedly doubling in just a week.
“If you are interested in infrastructure and very large-scale computing systems, the scale of what’s happening at OpenAI right now is insane, and we have very hard/interesting challenges. Please consider joining us! We could desperately use your help,” Altman posted on Sunday night.
Altman didn’t give exact numbers but, in a recent conversation with TED’s Chris Anderson, he said ChatGPT was seeing rapid growth and that about 10 percent of the world is now using OpenAI’s tools. “The last number we shared was 500 million weekly active users, and it’s gone up very quickly,” he said, suggesting that figure could now be closer to 800 million.
ChatGPT has gained new popularity recently thanks to viral features like its “Ghibli mode”, which creates images in the style of famous Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli. On 31 March, Altman revealed that the feature had brought in a million users within just an hour of launching.
That said, OpenAI has faced criticism over copyright concerns. Some people have accused ChatGPT’s image generator of copying the work of living artists. Altman responded by saying the model won’t produce images in the exact style of any living artist but may still use the visual language of well-known studios.
He also said OpenAI is looking at possible ways to share revenue with artists and creators in the future. “People have always taken inspiration from others. But as creative tools become more widely available, we might need new business models,” Altman said. “We and others are excited to explore these ideas, but it’s still early days.”
