Sam Altman wants to give everyone in the UK free access to ChatGPT Plus
The head and co-founder of OpenAI, Sam Altman, entered into discussions aimed at striking a deal to bring ChatGPT Plus to everyone in the UK at no cost to end users.
In a meeting between the UK’s technology secretary Peter Kyle and Altman, there was talk of granting UK residents access to a more advanced tier of ChatGPT as standard. The deal – while not definitely dead in the water – appears to have stalled, but the idea is an extremely interesting one.
The Guardian cites two unnamed sources familiar with the events of the meeting who suggest – but do not say directly – that the idea seems to have stemmed from Altman rather than the UK government.
Kyle, a keen advocate of artificial intelligence, does not appear to have been keen on the idea, perhaps because of the potential costs involved. While there are free tiers of ChatGPT available, ChatGPT Plus – which offers greater speed and more advanced options – is a paid-for subscription that costs $20 per month. This could have meant a large invoice for the UK government, and it would have been one that would be difficult to justify to the public.
The Guardian reports:
Sam Altman, a co-founder of OpenAI, talked to Peter Kyle about a potential agreement to give UK residents access to its advanced product.
According to two sources with direct knowledge of the meeting, the idea was floated as part of a broader discussion in San Francisco about opportunities for collaboration between OpenAI and the UK.
Those close to the discussion say Kyle never really took the idea seriously, not least because it could have cost as much as £2bn.
ChatGPT Plus for free?
The news of talks between the UK government and OpenAI on such matters is not completely surprising. We already know of several meetings that have taken place, which ultimately resulted in the UK signing a deal to use OpenAI's technology in UK public service.
But the likelihood of free access to ChatGPT Plus coming to fruition seem quite unlikely. The idea appears to have been dismissed, and the chances of it being a topic that is revisited to discussion are low.
A spokesperson for OpenAI said:
Millions of Brits are already using ChatGPT every day for free. In July, we signed an MoU [a memorandum of understanding] with the government to explore how we can best support the growth of AI in the UK, for the UK.
They continue:
In line with the government’s vision of using this technology to unlock economic opportunity for everyday people, our shared goal is to democratise access to AI. The more people who can use it, the more widely its benefits will spread.
As things stand at the moment, the UK government position is that there is no deal on the horizon. As the Guardian reports: “the science and technology department said it had not taken forward any proposal to give UK residents access to ChatGPT Plus or discussed it with other departments”.
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