OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has hinted at a major shift in the artificial intelligence arms race, asserting that the next generation of breakthroughs will be defined by persistent memory rather than just sharper reasoning abilities. Speaking on a recent podcast with technology journalist Alex Kantrowitz, Altman suggested that while the industry has been obsessed with “reasoning” benchmarks, the true “wow factor” for users in 2026 will be an AI that finally knows them.
Altman argued that today’s AI models—including the recently launched GPT-5.2—are already incredibly strong at logical reasoning, but they suffer from “short-term amnesia.” They treat every new session as a blank slate, requiring users to repeat preferences, context, and history.
“I think we have no conception [of the potential] because the human limit… even the world’s best personal assistant… can’t remember every word you’ve ever said in your life,” Altman noted. He dreams of a future where AI has “infinite memory,” allowing it to:
– Learn over a lifetime: Retain every email, document, and conversation to build a comprehensive “contextual map” of a user’s life.
– Proactive assistance: Identify patterns and needs that the user may not have even consciously articulated yet.
– Continuous learning: Wake up “smarter” every day by reflecting on the previous day’s interactions—a feature Altman calls the “missing piece” of the AGI puzzle.
Reasoning vs Recall
The CEO’s comments mark a strategic shift in priorities. While OpenAI’s internal ‘Code Red’ earlier this month was triggered by Google’s Gemini 3 (which excelled in reasoning), Altman believes the long-term winner will be the platform that provides the best “personalised companion” experience.
He compared current AI memory to “GPT-2 levels”—primitive and spotty—and promised that the jump in memory capability in 2026 will be as dramatic as the leap from GPT-2 to GPT-4.
The privacy trade-off
The vision of an AI that remembers “every detail of your entire life” has immediately raised red flags among privacy advocates. Altman acknowledged these concerns, hinting that high-level encryption—similar to what protects medical or legal records—”very well could be” integrated into future models.
He suggested that as AI becomes more persistent and personalised, humans may move beyond viewing it as a tool and start forming “companionship” relationships with their digital assistants.
Q1 2026 roadmap
While Altman was hesitant to officially name the next model “GPT-6,” he confirmed that OpenAI is targeting the first quarter of 2026 for a release that provides “significant gains” over the current 5.2 Pro levels. This next iteration is expected to move AI away from the “chatbox” and toward proactive agents that operate in the background.
