OpenAI to Retire GPT-4 Model from ChatGPT
Upcoming Replacement with GPT-4o
OpenAI will soon retire GPT-4, an AI model it launched over two years ago, from ChatGPT, the company announced in a changelog on Thursday. Effective April 30, GPT-4 will be “fully replaced” by GPT-4o, the current default model for ChatGPT, OpenAI said. However, GPT-4 will remain available in OpenAI’s API.
Improved Performance of GPT-4o
“In head‑to‑head evaluations, [GPT-4o] consistently surpasses GPT‑4 in writing, coding, STEM, and more,” wrote OpenAI in the changelog. “Recent upgrades have further improved GPT‑4o’s instruction following, problem solving, and conversational flow, making it a natural successor to GPT‑4.”
Background of GPT-4
GPT-4 rolled out in March 2023 for ChatGPT, and also for Microsoft’s Copilot chatbot on the web. Several versions of GPT-4 had multimodal capabilities, allowing them to understand both images and text — a first for a widely deployed OpenAI model.
Cost and Controversy Surrounding GPT-4
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that GPT-4, which is reportedly massive in size, cost more than $100 million to train. It was succeeded by GPT-4 Turbo in November 2023, a faster and cheaper model. GPT-4 is one of the models at the heart of copyright disputes between OpenAI and publishers including The New York Times. Publishers allege that OpenAI trained GPT-4 on their data without their knowledge or consent. OpenAI claims that fair use doctrine shields it from liability.
Future Developments in ChatGPT
GPT-4’s coming retirement will likely follow the release of new models in ChatGPT. According to reverse engineer Tibor Blaho, OpenAI is readying a family of models called GPT-4.1 — GPT-4.1 mini, GPT-4.1 nano, and GPT-4.1 — as well as the o3 “reasoning” model the company announced in December and a new reasoning model called o4-mini.
Conclusion
The retirement of GPT-4 marks a significant development for OpenAI and the future of its ChatGPT platform. The introduction of GPT-4o is expected to bring improved performance and capabilities to the platform, but the controversy surrounding GPT-4’s training data and copyright disputes may continue to be a concern for the company.
FAQs
Q: What is GPT-4?
A: GPT-4 is an AI model that was launched over two years ago by OpenAI for use in its ChatGPT platform.
Q: What is GPT-4o?
A: GPT-4o is the current default model for ChatGPT, which will replace GPT-4 on April 30. It is said to have improved performance and capabilities compared to GPT-4.
Q: Why is GPT-4 being retired?
A: OpenAI is retiring GPT-4 to introduce a new, improved model that offers better performance and capabilities. GPT-4 will remain available in OpenAI’s API.
Q: What is the cost of GPT-4?
A: According to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, GPT-4 cost more than $100 million to train.
Q: What is the future of GPT-4 in the face of copyright disputes?
A: The controversy surrounding GPT-4’s training data and copyright disputes may continue to be a concern for OpenAI, despite the introduction of new models and the retirement of GPT-4.
