Tech Desk 
Feb 01, 2025
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged on Friday that his artificial intelligence (AI) company has been “on the wrong side of history” when it comes to transparency about how its technology works.
Altman made the remarks during a Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA) session, where he expressed support for the idea of publishing more OpenAI research.
He stated that discussions on this topic are underway at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters, adding: "I think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open-source strategy."
However, Altman noted that not everyone at OpenAI shares this view, and that improving transparency is not currently the company’s highest priority.
Open-source AI vs private companies
Chinese AI company DeepSeek has positioned itself as an open-source alternative to the closed AI models developed by Google and OpenAI.
Open source refers to making a software’s source code publicly available, rather than just the compiled program that runs on a computer. This approach contrasts with private companies' focus on revenue generation and intellectual property protection.
Companies like Meta, DeepSeek, and France-based AI developer Mistral distinguish themselves by allowing developers free access to their tools' underlying code.
DeepSeek’s impact on OpenAI’s future
During the AMA session, another Reddit user asked Altman whether DeepSeek’s success had influenced OpenAI’s plans for future models.
Altman responded: "It's a very good model." He added that OpenAI will continue to develop more advanced AI models, but admitted: "We will produce better models, but we will maintain less of a lead than we did in previous years."
