OpenAI CEO mocked for 'tantrum' over rival's Super Bowl ad

The boss of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI is being ridiculed online for a lengthy rant on a rival chatbot firm for the Super Bowl ad it's planning to run.

Anthropic offers a free version, Claude, but users have to pay for more capable versions - as they do with ChatGPT. But in the Super Bowl ad, Anthropic launches a new product, saying, "Ads are coming to AI. But not to Claude."

In a 420 word-long post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman called its competitor "dishonest" and "deceptive".

'Digital equivalent of a toddler tantrum'

X users responded with typical mockery, with some describing Altman's rant as "the digital equivalent of a toddler throwing a tantrum".

"Looks like a nerve was well and truly hit," read one post. Another called the reaction "hypocritical", adding, "The reason Anthropic's satirical ads went viral is precisely that public trust in you and OpenAI has already hit rock bottom over the past few months."

In the lengthy post, Altman also opposed Anthropic's decision to run the ad during the Super Bowl on February 8.

"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," he said.

Altman then reasoned, "Anthropic serves an expensive product to rich people."

Sam Altman. Image: TED X

Nikita Bier, the head of product at X, offered Altman some simple advice for the future: "Never respond to playful humour with an essay."

The BBC reports that it approached Anthropic for comment.

Main image: Sam Altman

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