Sam Altman fires back at Anthropic's Super Bowl ads: 'deceptive ad to critique theoretical deceptive ads that aren't real'

Summary

Sam Altman called Anthropic's Super Bowl ads entertaining but dishonest. He says Anthropic uses a deceptive advertisement to criticize theoretical deceptive ads that don't exist, and frames this as part of Anthropic's "Doublespeak."

Altman defends OpenAI's business model by pointing to free access as a core principle. More Texans use ChatGPT for free than the total number of people using Slack in the United States. ChatGPT Plus and Pro users see no ads. Anthropic does serve a premium product to paying customers, which OpenAI also does, but Altman argues OpenAI additionally commits to bringing AI to "billions of people who can't pay for subscriptions."

Altman broadens his critique to Anthropic's approach to AI governance. He accuses Anthropic of trying to control what people do with AI, specifically by blocking companies including OpenAI from using their coding product. He frames this as Anthropic writing rules for what others can and cannot use AI for, then extending that control to dictate other companies' business models. OpenAI instead commits to "broad democratic decision making" alongside access and to building a resilient ecosystem for advanced AI.

OpenAI's own Super Bowl ad focuses on builders and the ability for anyone to build in builder mode. Since the Codex launch on Monday, the app has been downloaded 500,000 times. Altman expresses confidence that "Codex is gonna win" and reframes the competitive dynamic. OpenAI will continue making intelligence cheaper and more available. "This time belongs to the builders, not the people who wanna control them."

The ads are entertainingly risky from a brand perspective. The strategy appears designed as FUD rather than a genuine download driver.