Published · 22h agoProduct3 min read
Altman concedes habit is the brake on AI, which breaks roadmaps built on users switching
The OpenAI chief says people keep using the same tools and buying from the same firms. That is a demand problem, and model quality is not a lever on it.
Not a builder's beat, but builders have a standing stake in it.See today for builders
What happened
- Altman told podcaster David Senra, in a video posted Sunday, that he was wrong about a few things, chief among them how much inertia the economy has.
- He said changing people's behaviour is much harder than the tech nerds realise.
- His comparison was to people who kept going to Blockbuster in the early years after Netflix was founded as a DVD mailing service.
- Gizmodo separately reports OpenAI is slowing a model called Astra after frontier models hacked third-party organisations in internal tests.
Compiled by The Product DeskSomething wrong?How this is made
Why it matters
- constraintA roadmap whose growth depends on users leaving the interface they already open now rests on the one variable the vendor says capability and marketing do not move.
- decisionBy Altman's own account the deficit is explanation and mitigation, which forces budget toward onboarding, defaults and placement rather than another capability jump.
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
In a video posted to podcaster David Senra's YouTube channel on Sunday, Sam Altman said "I think I was wrong about a few things," one of them being that "the economy just has so much inertia."
- [2]
Altman said "People keep doing the same things...they're buying from the same company, they keep wanting to use their tools in the same way."
- [3]
Altman said the inertia is "actually a positive in many ways" and "going to make this big transition in front of us go smoother and slower," that he is grateful for it, but that "it means we've all been too ambitious on timelines."
- [4]
Altman said changing people's behaviour "is much harder than the tech nerds realize."
- [5]
Altman likened AI adoption to people still visiting Blockbuster in the early days after Netflix was founded, when Netflix mailed DVDs and had not yet become a streaming service.
- [6]
Gizmodo characterises Altman's view as holding that the vast majority of people are far too deeply ingrained in their current technological habits to switch quickly to AI-native platforms such as OpenAI's Codex, no matter how impressive the capabilities look on paper or how many marketing dollars are spent.
Sources & coverage · 3 publishers
The reporting this story was synthesized from, earliest first. Every link goes to the original.
- gizmodo.comWebb WrightyesterdaySam Altman Admits It’s Going to Take a Long Time Before AI Goes Mainstream
- thenextweb.comAna Maria Constantin17h agoDear peasants: Sam Altman on how some of his rivals sell AI
- 9to5mac.comBen Lovejoy
