For tech start-ups, relentless focus can be critical. Google’s famous mission statement, to “organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”, shaped its early priorities. A spate of upgrades to the search engine in its early years, from image search and maps to shopping and news, left it unrecognisable from where it started. By the time Microsoft launched a head-on challenge with Bing nine years later, it was already pretty much game over.
对科技初创公司而言，保持极致专注往往是成功关键。谷歌(Google)那句著名的使命宣言：“整合全球信息，使人人皆可访问并从中受益”，曾深刻塑造了其早期战略重心。这家搜索引擎在最初那些年接连升级，推出图片搜索、地图，还有购物、新闻，已经和最初的样子判若两物。等到九年后微软(Microsoft)推出必应(Bing)向其发起正面挑战时，胜负其实早就已成定局。
OpenAI, by contrast, has sought to make a virtue of its lack of focus. ChatGPT may have seized the public imagination, but the company has been busy trying to spin up a range of new product ideas, from a social network based on video generation to a shopping agent, while also diving into the business market.
相比之下，OpenAI反而试图把“不专注”塑造成一种优势。ChatGPT确实抓住了公众想象力，但与此同时，这家公司还一直在马不停蹄地推出各种新产品概念——从基于视频生成的社交网络到“购物助手”，还一头扎进企业市场。
The race to diversify is understandable. Facing huge costs to develop and train its models, OpenAI needs every new source of revenue it can find. But the perils of that approach may be starting to show through. Three years after ChatGPT sent Google reeling, the search giant has surged back. Its latest Gemini AI model has been widely lauded, propelling the company’s stock to new heights. Alert to the threat, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has issued what he called a “code red” to staff, urging them to refocus efforts on ChatGPT.
这种急于开发各种新业务的心态可以理解。面对开发和训练模型所需的巨额成本，OpenAI需要开拓所有可能的收入来源。但这种策略的风险似乎也开始显现。三年前，ChatGPT曾让谷歌措手不及；如今，这家搜索巨头强势反扑。谷歌最新的Gemini人工智能模型获得广泛好评，推动公司股价再创新高。面对这一威胁，OpenAI首席执行官萨姆•奥尔特曼(Sam Altman)向员工拉响所谓“红色警报”(code red)，要求全公司把重心重新拉回到ChatGPT上。