Sam Altmans says GPT 5 AI is so smart, it made him feel useless ahead of imminent launch

India Today

29-07-2025

AI is evolving at an unprecedented pace and getting smarter and smarter with each passing day. This advancement is also bringing on the fear of AI and its potential to replace humans. While that day hasn't arrived yet, even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admits he's unsettled by what's coming next. Sharing a recent incident involving the upcoming GPT-5, Altman reveals that the capabilities of this advanced model have left him feeling almost 'useless.'advertisementSpeaking on comedian Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast, Altman revealed that when he recently used GPT-5 for some work, the model demonstrated such intelligence that it left him feeling 'useless relative to the intelligence of AI.' Altman shared that he had fed the AI a question he didn't fully understand:'I put it in the model (a question I got in an email I received) – this is GPT-5 – and it answered it perfectly. I felt useless relative to the AI in this thing that I felt I should have been able to do, and I couldn't, and it was really hard. But the AI just did it like that. It was a weird feeling.'
Altman described the moment as a realisation of how powerful GPT-5 has become.Interestingly, Altman has already confirmed on X (formerly Twitter) that GPT-5 will be released 'soon.' While the company has not yet shared the exact dates, the teaser and the fact that Altman shared GPT-5 is already being used are fuelling speculation that the next-generation model is just weeks away. According to rumours, the advanced AI model from OpenAI could arrive as early as August, with OpenAI planning to release mini and nano versions of the model through its API.GPT-5 has already been spotted in limited tests, further fuelling speculation about its arrival and intensifying interest in what OpenAI has called its most advanced system yet. In fact, Altman had previously described the model as 'a system that integrates a lot of our technology,' with enhanced reasoning capabilities built in. The so-called 'o3 reasoning' engine—originally planned as a standalone system—will now be integrated directly into GPT-5, making it a more unified and powerful model.Meanwhile, on the same podcast, Altman also touched upon the raised concerns about the mental health impact of AI, particularly as more people are using AI for therapy, forming emotional attachments to AI companions, and relying on them extensively. Answering Von's question on whether AI will have the same negative effect that social media really has, Altman replies, 'I'm scared of that...I don't think we know quite the ways in which it's going to have those negative impacts, but I feel for sure it's going to have some and we'll have to". - Ends