--- title: "Sam Altman Admits Its Letters-and-Numbers Salad Product Names Like “GPT-4o Mini” Are Horrible" description: "As OpenAI releases yet another new GPT model, CEO Sam Altman has finally admitted that it might be time for a new name." date: "2024-07-20" modified: "2024-07-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/sam-altman-gpt-name-change" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "the digest" --- # Sam Altman Admits Its Letters-and-Numbers Salad Product Names Like “GPT-4o Mini” Are Horrible ![As OpenAI releases yet another new GPT model, CEO Sam Altman has finally admitted that it might be time for a new name.]() *\Image: Halil Sagirkaya / Anadolu via Getty / Futurism\* ## Name Game As OpenAI releases yet another version of its GPT large language model with an extremely cumbersome name, CEO Sam Altman has finally admitted that it might be time for a new naming convention. After [announcing on X-formerly-Twitter]() the release of the new LLM known as GPT-4o Mini, which will reportedly be [cheaper for businesses]() to use in making their own chatbots than its non-mini version, Altman issued a [rare response]() to criticism. "You guys need a naming scheme revamp so bad," [quipped tech Youtuber]() Concept Central in response to the letters-and-numbers salad of its product names, which have previously included clunkers like "GPT-3.5 Turbo" In perfect internetspeak, the [OpenAI CEO responded]() "lol yes we do." ## Any Other Name While there's nothing explicitly wrong with the way OpenAI names its products, the company has branched out with the nomenclature for its other projects. From its Sora video generator, which means "sky" or "void" [in Japanese](), to the DALL-E image generator that's [reportedly in homage]() to both the Pixar film "WALL-E" and Salvador Dali, OpenAI has clearly put thought into the names of its products. Even the rumors we've heard for its mysterious upper-level AI projects, from [Q\*]() (pronounced "Q-star") to the [newly-reported "Strawberry" code name]() for the endeavor that's said to be bent on imbuing LLMs with reasoning capabilities, there's obviously no shortage of cool names being promoted during brainstorming sessions at the world's leading AI firm. By contrast, GPT isn't even bespoke — it literally just means "[Generative Pre-trained Transformer]()," which is technically the classification for every LLM of that type. We've reached out to OpenAI to ask if it has any renaming plans, but given how [wildly popular]() ChatGPT and its undergirding LLMs have become, it's kind of hard to see it happening anytime soon. **More on OpenAI:** [*Most Users Think ChatGPT Is Conscious, Survey Finds*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()