OpenAI is preparing to enhance ChatGPT significantly, though this upgrade will come with additional costs. CEO Sam Altman announced that the company will soon introduce more powerful compute capabilities for ChatGPT, enabling it to tackle more resource-intensive tasks than before. However, these enhanced features will be available only to ChatGPT Pro subscribers, and users may incur extra fees in some instances. Altman shared this update on X, noting that the high expenses associated with operating these advanced systems necessitated limiting access to Pro subscribers. He cited the ‘associated costs’ of delivering such sophisticated offerings as the primary reason for their initial exclusivity.
Furthermore, he indicated that ‘some new products will have additional fees,’ suggesting that while ChatGPT will gain more power, it won’t be without cost. Despite this, Altman emphasized OpenAI’s commitment to affordability in the long term. He stated, ‘The company is committed to driving the cost of intelligence down.’ This approach—balancing the exploration of large-scale AI capabilities with maintaining accessibility—remains central to OpenAI’s strategy. Earlier this year, OpenAI introduced ChatGPT Go, an affordable plan specifically for India, priced at Rs 399 per month, aimed at users wanting ChatGPT’s benefits without high costs. In contrast, the Pro subscription is a premium tier costing Rs 19,900 per month, which includes unlimited messaging, image creation, and access to Sora video generation.
The forthcoming compute-heavy features will be added to this package, further enhancing the toolset for users willing to invest in advanced capabilities. Altman highlighted that this initiative isn’t solely about providing premium services but also about examining the potential of large language models (LLMs) when equipped with substantial computing power. He remarked, ‘We also want to learn what’s possible when we throw a lot of computers, at today’s model costs, at interesting new ideas.’ This announcement arrives amidst heightened scrutiny of the artificial intelligence industry due to its rapid growth. With significant funds being invested in AI development, concerns have been raised about the possibility of the sector experiencing a bubble reminiscent of the dot-com crash in the late 1990s.
On the Access podcast, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged that an AI bubble was ‘quite possible,’ yet he expressed a preference for the risks of potential financial losses over the danger of falling behind in the competitive AI landscape. Altman shared similar views in a recent interview with The Verge, noting that investors appeared ‘overexcited about AI.’ He cautioned that this enthusiasm could lead to speculative bubbles but reaffirmed his belief that artificial intelligence is ‘the most important thing to happen in a very long time.’ As OpenAI advances with its new compute-heavy features, the company seems determined to stretch the limits of AI capabilities while addressing economic sustainability.
For the moment, Pro subscribers are set to be the first to discover the extent of ChatGPT’s potential when provided with greater computational power.