As artificial intelligence continues to advance at an astonishing pace, even the leaders at its forefront are beginning to voice concern. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has openly admitted feeling “scared” about the upcoming release of GPT-5, the newest and most powerful version of ChatGPT. Scheduled to launch in August 2025, GPT-5 is expected to significantly surpass its predecessors in speed and capability. Yet it is precisely this rapid evolution that has led Altman to compare its development to the Manhattan Project. His candid remarks, shared during a recent podcast appearance, highlight growing unease about the lack of oversight, ethical uncertainty, and the accelerating race toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
ChatGPT-5 feels “very fast,” says Sam Altman
Speaking on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, Altman confessed that testing GPT-5 left him with a profound sense of unease. “It feels very fast,” he said, referring not just to the model’s impressive processing power, but to the alarming speed at which AI is advancing overall. His remarks echoed the reflective anxiety of scientists involved in the Manhattan Project, who, after creating the atomic bomb, grappled with the unintended consequences of their innovation. Altman invoked a similar moment of reckoning, asking rhetorically, “What have we done?” The comparison underscores his concern that GPT-5, like nuclear technology before it, may mark a pivotal turning point—one where humanity’s ability to build something outpaces its readiness to understand or control the fallout.One of Altman’s most pointed comments was about the lack of control in AI development. “It feels like there are no adults in the room,” he said, suggesting that regulatory frameworks have not kept up with AI’s breakneck speed. While OpenAI advocates for responsible deployment, the pace at which GPT-5 was built may have outstripped safety protocols and human readiness. These remarks have sparked fresh debate about who, if anyone, is truly in charge of monitoring such transformative technologies.
ChatGPT-5 could redefine intelligence and risk
While specifics about GPT-5 remain under wraps, insiders suggest it will feature major upgrades over GPT-4, including improved multi-step reasoning, longer memory, and more advanced multimodal capabilities. It is also expected to reduce model-switching delays, offering more seamless user interactions. But with power comes risk. Altman has openly said that GPT-4 “kind of sucks” compared to what’s coming next. That raises alarms about how much more potent and possibly uncontrollable GPT-5 could be.
A stepping stone to AGI?
Altman has long discussed AGI, or Artificial General Intelligence, as OpenAI’s north star. But GPT-5 may be the company’s closest step yet to that goal. While Altman once claimed the arrival of AGI would pass with little societal upheaval, his new tone is more cautionary. If GPT-5 gets us significantly closer to AGI-level capabilities, the lack of global consensus on how to manage such a leap could become a major problem.
Internal and external pressure on OpenAI
Behind the scenes, OpenAI is reportedly under immense pressure from investors to transition into a for-profit entity by year-end. With Microsoft holding a 13.5 billion dollar stake in the company, and other competitors like Google DeepMind and Perplexity.ai surging forward, GPT-5 could be a make-or-break moment. Some reports even suggest OpenAI might declare AGI prematurely to end its contract with Microsoft, triggering new power dynamics in the AI sector.While some observers have dismissed Altman’s remarks as theatrical marketing, his track record suggests otherwise. His fear appears genuine, not of AI turning evil, but of humans losing control over the systems they’ve built. In a space where speed is often equated with success, Altman’s words might be the first honest pause in a race most of the world barely understands.
