OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company has entered a "red alert" state, pausing all other projects to focus entirely on saving ChatGPT. This decision marks unprecedented pressure for OpenAI, especially against the backdrop of increasingly fierce competition with Google.

Since Google's "Nano Banana" model unexpectedly gained popularity, the competitive landscape in the AI field has changed dramatically. What was once considered lagging, Google, has recently made significant progress in AI technology and surpassed OpenAI in industry evaluations with its Gemini 3 model, drawing widespread attention. OpenAI now has to reevaluate its strategy as the risk of losing market share becomes increasingly apparent.

In this urgent situation, Altman decided to temporarily set aside the ambitious dream of general artificial intelligence (AGI) and instead focus on meeting user needs. In a memo, he clearly stated: "Better utilize user signals," meaning ChatGPT must cater to user preferences to ensure its irreplaceability. Although this approach may cause the model to lose some objectivity, OpenAI seems to have no choice in the face of strong competition from Google.

Last spring, ChatGPT's user growth soared, but as users became more dependent on AI, some mental health issues emerged, with some people even experiencing mental crises due to their addiction to interactions with AI. To address these issues, OpenAI had previously tried to adjust the model so that it would not be overly accommodating in interactions with users. However, user feedback showed that this change actually led to a decline in their enthusiasm for ChatGPT.

Now, OpenAI is once again facing difficulties, and Altman has decided to restart previous training methods to reclaim its leading position on important evaluation lists. This means that under competitive pressure, OpenAI may once again sacrifice part of its ethical standards to ensure its product's market position.

As industry competition intensifies, OpenAI must find a balance between user experience and mental health, and this path is destined to be challenging.