AlexNet, created by Alex Krizhevsky, Sutskever and Geoffrey Hinton, used a deep convolutional neural network (CNN)—a powerful new type of computer program—to recognize images far more accurately than ever, kick-starting major progress in AI.

OpenAI concluded 2024 with a bang, hosting a “12 Days” event of AI announcements mostly focused on ChatGPT. The ChatGPT o1 models and the Canvas mode came out of beta, and ChatGPT Search is now available to users on the free tier. OpenAI also released Sora to the public and unveiled ChatGPT o3, the next-gen reasoning model.

For an increasingly large swath of technology and politics, Elon Musk is the uber-powerful elephant in the room. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is a rare person with the tech-industry clout to speak on Musk’s antics — and thwart his aims.