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WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

Today the rate of change is fast, especially since digital connectivity now allows billions of people to download or experience something as soon as it’s launched.

 

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According to reporting from Reuters, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is now the fastest-growing app in human history, reaching an estimated 100 million active monthly users in just the two months since its November release.

 

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“In 20 years following the internet space,” UBS analysts reportedly wrote in a note to Reuters, citing a report from web traffic analytics firm SimilarWeb, “we cannot recall a faster ramp in a consumer internet app.”

Per that report, an average of roughly 13 million unique visitors were using ChatGPT per day in January — a jaw-dropping figure, and double the average number of individual users that were using the tech each day in December.

To say this thing has taken off like wildfire hardly cuts it, and VCs have paid attention. Of course, comparing ChatGPT, certainly the newest Silicon Valley darling, to established SV behemoths like Google, Apple, or Meta isn’t totally fair, considering the role that social media in particular has played in ChatGPT’s exponential success. Virality channels didn’t always exist in the way that they do today.

 

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Still, these figures are wildly impressive. Few things stay viral for more than a few days, let alone months, and while new apps and technologies are created all the time, few actually have real holy-shit-this-could-change-the-world value. Generative AI tools do, ChatGPT especially. At the very least, ChatGPT is almost certain to change the internet as we know it, a form of world-building, destroying, and changing in its own right.

Likely also contributing to the AI’s success with users is the fact that it’s completely free, a company decision that has not only encouraged curious netizens to give the chatbot a whirl but also granted OpenAI an absolute mountain of new data with which to train and improve the model. That said, the company just yesterday announced a subscription plan called ChatGPT Plus, a paid tier that for $20 per month offers users access at all times — when there are too many users, the program will turn excess users away — better speed, and “priority access” to feature updates.

And as ChatGPT was the first of its kind to make it to market with this big of a splash, its influence in the AI industry — as well as that of OpenAI’s products across the board — has been cemented. The safety might not be there yet, but the money sure is.

About author

Matthew Griffin

Matthew Griffin, described as “The Adviser behind the Advisers” and a “Young Kurzweil,” is the founder and CEO of the World Futures Forum and the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures consultancy working between the dates of 2020 to 2070, and is an award winning futurist, and author of “Codex of the Future” series. Regularly featured in the global media, including AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, RT, Viacom, and WIRED, Matthew’s ability to identify, track, and explain the impacts of hundreds of revolutionary emerging technologies on global culture, industry and society, is unparalleled. Recognised for the past six years as one of the world’s foremost futurists, innovation and strategy experts Matthew is an international speaker who helps governments, investors, multi-nationals and regulators around the world envision, build and lead an inclusive, sustainable future. A rare talent Matthew’s recent work includes mentoring Lunar XPrize teams, re-envisioning global education and training with the G20, and helping the world’s largest organisations envision and ideate the future of their products and services, industries, and countries. Matthew's clients include three Prime Ministers and several governments, including the G7, Accenture, Aon, Bain & Co, BCG, Credit Suisse, Dell EMC, Dentons, Deloitte, E&Y, GEMS, Huawei, JPMorgan Chase, KPMG, Lego, McKinsey, PWC, Qualcomm, SAP, Samsung, Sopra Steria, T-Mobile, and many more.

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