GPT-5 is here... Can it win back programmers?

Overview

This episode dives into the release of GPT-5, exploring its capabilities, benchmarks, pricing, and implications for developers. While OpenAI claims it’s a groundbreaking step toward artificial superintelligence, the host critically examines whether GPT-5 lives up to the hype or is just an incremental upgrade.

Notable Quotes

- Sam Altman says GPT-5 is like having multiple PhD-level experts in your pocket.

- GPT-5 is supposed to have lower deception rates, but then someone or something tried to deceive us with the Y-axis on the deception benchmark.

- The real power comes when you combine these new AI tools with existing technologies that you already know and love.

🧠 GPT-5’s Capabilities and Benchmarks

- GPT-5 is the first AI model to reportedly outperform humans on the Simple Bench benchmark, though this claim is disputed.

- It failed to beat competitors like Grock on the ARC AGI benchmark, raising questions about its superiority.

- OpenAI’s announcement included questionable benchmark graphics, with a misleading Y-axis, sparking skepticism about its transparency.

- Despite claims of PhD-level intelligence, GPT-5’s performance on some tasks, like coding, revealed limitations and hallucinations.

💡 Innovations in GPT-5

- Unlike previous models, GPT-5 unifies multiple specialized models (e.g., fast reasoning, routing) to optimize task performance without user intervention.

- This approach focuses on consolidation and cost reduction rather than simply scaling up model size.

- GPT-5 is priced competitively at $10 per million output tokens, significantly undercutting competitors like Claude Opus 4.1.

💻 Coding with GPT-5: Successes and Failures

- GPT-5 generated clean Svelte code quickly but failed to execute it correctly due to hallucinating its own rules.

- When prompted, it identified and corrected its errors, ultimately producing a functional app with an impressive UI.

- However, its attempt to build a 3JS flight simulator game was underwhelming, highlighting its inconsistency in complex tasks.

🤔 Implications for Developers

- While GPT-5 shows promise, it’s unlikely to replace developers entirely. Instead, its strength lies in augmenting existing workflows.

- The host emphasizes the importance of integrating GPT-5 with familiar tools and technologies to unlock its full potential.

- The episode concludes with a reminder that AI tools like GPT-5 are most effective when paired with human expertise.