Sam Altman, co-founder of OpenAI, and the UK technology secretary are discussing a multi-billion-pound deal to give the entire country premium access to ChatGPT Plus.
ChatGPT has quickly become one of the most utilized artificial intelligence tools around the world. Sam Altman is the co-founder of OpenAI, the company that owns ChatGPT, and now reports are indicating that Altman is working with the technology secretary of the United Kingdom to potentially bring ChatGPT Premium to the entire country.
In what would be a multibillion-pound deal, premium access would be provided to every citizen within the UK. Altman recently discussed this deal in a meeting with Peter Kyle, according to reports from two sources with direct knowledge of the meeting. The idea was a part of a bigger discussion in San Francisco regarding opportunities for collaboration between OpenAI and the UK.
According to the direct sources from the meeting, Kyle isn’t sure how serious the idea to bring ChatGPT Plus to the entirety of the UK is, however, he’s been a long supporter of embracing artificial intelligence and the advantages it can bring, despite the ongoing debates regarding privacy and copyright issues.
Back in January, the minister told PoliticsHome about his enthusiasm for ChatGPT specifically and the benefits of the tool.
“ChatGPT is fantastically good, and where there are things that you really struggle to understand in depth, ChatGPT can be a very good tutor for it.”
OpenAI offers free and subscription versions of ChatGPT. The paid premium version, known as ChatGPT Plus, costs $20 a month. The benefits of the premium service include faster response times and priority access to new features.
Kyle and Altman have had previous dinner meetings in March and April, according to transparency data released by the UK government. In July, Kyle signed an agreement with OpenAI to use AI in the UK’s public services.
The non-binding deal could give OpenAI access to government data and lead to its software being utilized within education, defence, security, and the justice system.
On a more personal level, Kyle has vocalized using AI within government and for his own role. He’s discussed how he asked ChatGPT for advice on a wide range of work-related questions, specifically regarding why British businesses were not adopting AI.
The UK overall is one of OpenAI’s top five markets for premium ChatGPT subscriptions.
“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,” a spokesperson for Open AI said.
“In line with the government’s vision of using this technology to unlock economic opportunity for everyday people, our shared goal is to democratize access to AI. The more people who can use it, the more widely its benefits will spread.”
OpenAI has been talking with multiple governments in recent months, and even came to a deal with the United Arab Emirates to “enable ChatGPT nationwide.” The technology will be used in public sectors such as transport, healthcare, and education.
The UK government specifically has been trying to acquire AI investment from the US, and has reached deals with Google and Anthropic earlier this year.
Kyle recently told the Rest is Politics podcast: “I want us to be at the very forefront of AI because those countries will get to shape how it goes, how it is used and deployed.” He stated that if a new UN security council is set up within the decade regarding AI, that would become a major factor in determining the most powerful countries.
There is a lot of pushback, however, when it comes to this kind of government involvement in AI. ChatGPT produces text, images, videos, and music after receiving prompts by users. Like many AI tools, it utilizes information from existing books, pictures, footage and songs, leading to a multitude of complaints and inquiries about copyright infringement.
Artists like Elton John have called out ministers over potential plans to change copyright laws to allow AI companies to use copyrighted work to build their tools without needing permission. A trade body representing the UK’s artificial intelligence industry, UKAI, had argued that the government is too focused on big tech at the expense of smaller companies and bodies.
One spokesperson for the government stated: “We don’t recognise these claims. We are working with OpenAI and other leading AI companies to explore investment in UK infrastructure, improve public services and rigorously test the security of new technology before it is made public.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
