OpenAI has put the kibosh on another project, at least for now. Thursday, according to the Financial Times I mentioned that The AI company will pause its plans “indefinitely” to develop an “exciting” mode for ChatGPT.
The proposed “adult mode,” which was first floated by CEO Sam Altman in October, has sparked significant controversy Technology monitoring groups And also from OpenAI’s own employees. In January, a meeting between the company’s executives and its board of advisors became heated, with one advisor warning that OpenAI might be in the process of developing a “sexy suicide coach,” the Wall Street Journal reported. I mentioned previously.
Amid all the criticism, the feature was released He was late several times.
FT reports that the exciting feature now has no release schedule. When reached by TechCrunch for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson said the company had “nothing to add.”
Adult Mode is just the latest side quest that OpenAI has abandoned over the past week as the AI giant ramps up its focus. On Tuesday, the company quietly announced that it would deprioritize Instant Checkout, a feature within ChatGPT that sought to make the chatbot a purchasing portal where users can purchase items from e-commerce sites. Then, on Wednesday, the company surprisingly announced that it was shutting down Sora, its AI-powered video generator. Sora was criticized for this Inspiring the ‘cliff’ AI flood Which has flooded the internet since its launch in 2024.
All the changes come about a week after the Wall Street Journal announced that OpenAI would engage in a “major strategic shift” to move the company away from distractions so it can focus on its core focus: business users and coders.
Why did OpenAI choose this particular moment to eliminate distractions and closure? Perhaps that’s because it was feeling pressure from Anthropic, which has been releasing a series of programming and business tools over the past few months — and has seen Great success in attracting customers as a result of.
The two companies have also been very public feuding over Pentagon contracts, a battle that OpenAI appears to have won. Three weeks ago, that An agreement worth $200 million was announced With the Ministry of Defense, while Anthropy is now In a legal battle With the agency.
In short, it seems that if recent developments tell us anything, the future of AI may be less about porn and memes than about business and war.
