GPT-5 Hype Misses the Mark, Leaving OpenAI with Incremental Gains
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What is the Viqus Verdict?
We evaluate each news story based on its real impact versus its media hype to offer a clear and objective perspective.
AI Analysis:
The launch underscores a shift in AI investment priorities away from ambitious, public-facing models towards more pragmatic applications, reflecting a necessary transition from hype to sustainable value creation.
Article Summary
OpenAI’s GPT-5 release generated significant anticipation, fueled by Sam Altman’s pronouncements and imagery like the Death Star, but the reality fell short of expectations. While benchmarks showed improvements in coding and reduced hallucinations, the advancements were largely considered incremental and did not inspire the widespread awe predicted by many. Key criticisms centered around a perceived lack of nuanced responses and a robotic writing style, leading to comparisons with the now-retired GPT-4o. Despite OpenAI’s claims of a ‘smartest model ever,’ many industry experts, including Gary Marcus and Peter Wildeford, deemed the model underwhelming. The biggest win for OpenAI appears to be in coding, where GPT-5 currently leads in benchmarks, but the overall effect is a measured, financially-focused shift rather than a revolutionary leap.Key Points
- GPT-5’s improvements were largely incremental, failing to meet the high expectations set by prior hype and Altman’s pronouncements.
- Industry experts largely considered the advancements to be underwhelming, with criticisms focusing on the model’s robotic writing style and lack of nuanced responses.
- Despite OpenAI’s claims of a ‘smartest model ever,’ GPT-5’s primary strength lies in coding, where it currently leads benchmarks and represents a potential revenue driver.

