[The Editors' Verdict] OpenAI's Bold Challenge One Year Ahead of the US Presidential Election

"We aim to build an AI ecosystem by launching a ‘GPT Store’ like the iPhone App Store."

On the 6th, OpenAI held its first developer conference (Dev Day) and introduced new services utilizing ChatGPT, drawing a flood of praise from foreign media. The analogy considered the iPhone as the pioneer that ushered in the smartphone era. This event was seen as signaling the prologue to the ‘AI era.’

The core theme of the event was the creation of an AI ecosystem. ChatGPT users can create AI services (GPTs) through conversations with AI (such as GPT-4 Turbo) without any development knowledge, and through the GPT Store, they can buy and sell the services they develop. As if to counter this event, other big tech companies simultaneously unveiled new AI models, but the spotlight remained on OpenAI.

What stood out more than the services was the timing of the announcement. With the U.S. presidential election just one year away, OpenAI’s launch of next-generation services that make AI easier and more convenient to use was striking. This was a bold move, especially as the U.S. political sphere, including President Biden, has identified the proliferation of fake content using AI as the top concern for the election.

Notably, next year, general and presidential elections will be held in 40 countries besides the U.S. Considering the political backlash against fake news worldwide, OpenAI might have found it easier to either hold this event earlier or postpone it until after the election. According to a recent poll (1,017 respondents) by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy, six out of ten American adults believe that AI tools will precisely target voters and spread false or misleading information during the U.S. election period. This suggests that OpenAI could be singled out as one of the main culprits behind the spread of fake news.

OpenAI’s bold challenge stems from the U.S. AI policy stance that pursues ‘AI promotion.’ President Joe Biden, upon seeing a deepfake video of himself, said, "When did I say that?" Yet, the executive order on AI regulation did not include punitive measures. Separate from cracking down on fake news, the U.S. is pushing forward AI development. In May, the U.S. Supreme Court sided with big tech in a lawsuit filed by families of victims killed in ISIS bombings, who claimed that Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube knowingly allowed extremist terrorist group ISIS to use their platforms as propaganda tools for years. The court ruled that platforms like YouTube are not liable for damages caused by algorithms recommending terrorist content. In contrast, the European Union’s regulations include provisions for fines up to 40 million euros (about 57.3 billion KRW) or 7% of global revenue if AI causes ‘unacceptable levels’ of risk, such as manipulating human subconsciousness or exploiting children.

As experts point out that AI can negatively impact human life, the U.S.’s leniency toward AI cannot be deemed entirely correct. However, OpenAI’s bold decision to secure technological leadership in AI would have been difficult to realize in countries other than the U.S. What if OpenAI had originated in South Korea ahead of next year’s general election? Without listing controversies over news algorithm bias or real-time search term manipulation, considering the political pressures on portals based on political interests and the portals’ hurried shutdown of services in response, it is likely that the creation of an AI ecosystem would have been abandoned or postponed. This moment recalls the words of Apple’s founder Steve Jobs (, 2011): "Politics should create an environment for innovation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.