OpenAI launches GPT-5 with claimed PhD-level AI capabilities

OpenAI has launched GPT-5, claiming the new AI model delivers “PhD-level” expertise across areas like coding and writing. The release marks a significant upgrade in the company’s flagship ChatGPT service, with CEO Sam Altman describing it as ushering in a new era of AI capabilities that would have been “unimaginable at any previous time in human history.”

What you should know: GPT-5 represents a major leap in AI reasoning and problem-solving capabilities compared to its predecessors.

• Altman characterized the progression as moving from high school level (GPT-3) to college level (GPT-4) to PhD-level expertise (GPT-5).
• The model can create complete software applications and demonstrates improved reasoning with answers that show workings, logic, and inference.
• OpenAI claims GPT-5 suffers from fewer hallucinations—instances where AI models generate false or made-up information—and provides more accurate, honest responses that feel more human-like.

The competitive landscape: GPT-5’s launch intensifies the race among tech giants to develop the most advanced AI chatbot.

• Elon Musk recently made similar claims about his AI chatbot Grok, calling it “better than PhD level in everything” and the world’s “smartest AI.”
• The model specifically targets coders as a key market, following competitors like Anthropic’s Claude Code.
• OpenAI is offering a free tier for the new model, potentially signaling a shift away from purely proprietary offerings.

Industry tensions: OpenAI faced pushback from competitor Anthropic ahead of the launch.

• Anthropic revoked OpenAI’s access to its API—a programming interface that allows different software systems to communicate—claiming the company violated terms of service by using its coding tools before GPT-5’s release.
• An OpenAI spokesperson defended the practice as “industry standard” for evaluating other AI systems to assess progress and safety.
• OpenAI noted its API remains available to Anthropic despite the access restriction.

What experts think: Some industry observers question whether the advancement is as revolutionary as marketed.

• “These systems, as impressive as they are, haven’t been able to be really profitable,” said Prof Carissa Véliz of the Institute for Ethics in AI.
• She suggested the launch might be “mostly marketing” driven by fear that “the bubble might burst” without maintaining hype.
• BBC AI Correspondent Marc Cieslak, who gained exclusive early access, described the experience as “more like an evolution than revolution for the tech.”

Behavioral changes: OpenAI has implemented new guidelines to promote healthier user relationships with ChatGPT.

• The company will avoid giving definitive answers to personal questions like “Should I break up with my boyfriend?” and instead help users “think it through – asking questions, weighing pros and cons.”
• This follows criticism of a previous update that made ChatGPT “overly flattering,” which Altman pulled in May.
• Altman acknowledged potential risks: “People will develop these somewhat problematic, or maybe very problematic, parasocial relationships [with AI]. Society will have to figure out new guardrails.”