Sam Altman critiques Anthropic's Super Bowl ad, calls it 'dishonest' about ChatGPT

If you found the Anthropic commercials poking fun at ChatGPT amusing, you're not alone.

Sam Altman, the head of OpenAI, acknowledged that he also found them amusing, though he raised a few concerns.

"Firstly, the positive side of the Anthropic commercials: they're funny, and I chuckled," he noted in a detailed X (formerly Twitter) post on Wednesday. "Yet, I'm puzzled as to why Anthropic would opt for something so blatantly dishonest."

Anthropic, responsible for the AI assistant Claude, unveiled four ads online on Wednesday. 

This advertising series is scheduled to air during the Super Bowl on Sunday, specifically targeting OpenAI's move to introduce advertisements on ChatGPT.

"Advertising is coming to AI. However, not to Claude," the commercial clarifies, without directly naming OpenAI or ChatGPT.

The commercials show a person mimicking a chatbot who suddenly interrupts the conversation to promote a product. 

In one scenario, when a user inquires about gaining a six-pack quickly, the pretend chatbot not only offers advice but also recommends buying a particular pair of shoe inserts to appear taller and provides a discount code.

"Our most crucial principle for advertisements dictates that we would never do precisely this; clearly, we'd never run ads in the manner Anthropic portrays them. We understand that such tactics would be unwelcome by our users," Altman commented on the commercials, labeling them "misleading."

Altman highlighted that OpenAI aims to make AI accessible to everyone, focusing on providing AI services to billions who can't afford subscription fees.

OpenAI provides personal plans for ChatGPT ranging from no cost to $200 monthly. Similarly, Anthropic's Claude offers personal plans from free to $100 monthly. Both offer package deals for teams and businesses.