In a candid Reddit AMA session on Friday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made a surprising admission that could signal a major strategic shift for the AI giant. Altman acknowledged that OpenAI has been “on the wrong side of history” regarding its closed approach to AI development, suggesting the company may pivot toward a more open-source strategy in response to competitive pressures.
The discussion centered heavily on DeepSeek, the Chinese AI lab that has recently disrupted the industry by releasing top-performing AI models that are both powerful and remarkably cost-effective. DeepSeek’s success has forced major AI players to reconsider their approaches, particularly around transparency and accessibility.
One key area where OpenAI plans to change course involves reasoning model transparency. When asked about showing “thinking tokens” — the intermediate reasoning steps that AI models use to solve complex problems — Altman confirmed OpenAI would adopt DeepSeek’s more transparent approach. DeepSeek’s R1 model shows users every step of its reasoning process, sometimes displaying up to 16 pages of mathematical steps before reaching a final answer. In contrast, OpenAI’s o1 and o3 reasoning models currently hide these intermediate steps, only showing final results. “Yeah we are gonna show a much more helpful and detailed version of this, soon. Credit to R1 for updating us,” Altman wrote, explicitly acknowledging DeepSeek’s influence.
The more significant revelation came when Altman addressed OpenAI’s broader approach to open-source AI development. Despite its name, OpenAI has maintained a largely proprietary model, keeping its technology closed and charging for access. This contrasts sharply with competitors like Meta, whose Llama models are mostly open-source, allowing developers and companies to freely access and customize the technology. Meta’s chief AI scientist Yann LeCun has argued that DeepSeek’s success validates the open-source approach.
When asked if OpenAI would consider releasing model weights and publishing research, Altman responded: “Yes, we are discussing. I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open source strategy.” However, he noted that “not everyone at OpenAI shares this view, and it’s also not our current highest priority,” suggesting internal debate and that any changes may not be immediate.
This acknowledgment represents a remarkable about-face for a company that has increasingly moved toward closed, commercialized AI development despite its founding mission of ensuring AI benefits humanity broadly.
Key Quotes
Yeah we are gonna show a much more helpful and detailed version of this, soon. Credit to R1 for updating us
Sam Altman acknowledged that OpenAI will adopt DeepSeek’s approach of showing reasoning steps in AI models, explicitly crediting the Chinese competitor for prompting this change in strategy.
Yes, we are discussing. I personally think we have been on the wrong side of history here and need to figure out a different open source strategy; not everyone at OpenAI shares this view, and it’s also not our current highest priority
Altman’s candid admission about OpenAI’s closed approach reveals both his personal view that the company should embrace open-source development and the internal disagreement about this direction, suggesting significant strategic debates within the organization.
Our Take
Altman’s public acknowledgment that OpenAI may have erred strategically is remarkable for a CEO leading the industry’s most valuable AI startup. This admission likely reflects genuine competitive pressure from DeepSeek and Meta, whose open approaches are gaining traction. However, the caveat that open-source “isn’t our current highest priority” suggests OpenAI may be hedging its bets, unwilling to fully commit to a strategy that could undermine its lucrative API business model. The real test will be whether OpenAI follows through with meaningful open-source releases or merely makes cosmetic changes. DeepSeek’s disruption proves that innovation doesn’t require the massive capital expenditures Western AI labs have claimed are necessary, potentially democratizing AI development globally. This moment may be remembered as a turning point when the AI industry’s trajectory shifted from closed, commercialized systems toward more accessible, collaborative development.
Why This Matters
Altman’s admission represents a potentially seismic shift in the AI industry’s competitive landscape. OpenAI has been the dominant force in commercial AI, with its GPT models and ChatGPT setting industry standards. If the company pivots toward open-source development, it could fundamentally reshape how AI technology is developed, distributed, and monetized.
DeepSeek’s emergence as a credible competitor demonstrates that closed, expensive AI development isn’t the only path to success. The Chinese lab’s ability to create high-performing models at lower costs challenges the narrative that AI leadership requires massive capital expenditure and proprietary approaches. This has implications for the ongoing AI arms race, particularly between U.S. and Chinese companies.
The internal disagreement Altman mentioned at OpenAI also reveals tensions between commercial interests and the company’s original mission of democratizing AI. As OpenAI has transformed from a nonprofit to a capped-profit entity valued at over $150 billion, questions about its commitment to openness have intensified. This debate reflects broader industry questions about whether AI should be treated as a public good or proprietary technology, with significant implications for innovation, competition, and equitable access to transformative technology.
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-altman-openai-ai-approaches-deepseek-meta-open-source-2025-1