OpenAI API

We’re releasing an API for accessing new AI models developed by OpenAI. Unlike most AI systems which are designed for one use-case, the API today provides a general-purpose “text in, text out” interface, allowing users to try it on virtually any English language task. You can now request access in order to integrate the API into your product, develop an entirely new application, or help us explore the strengths and limits of this technology.

The field’s pace of progress means that there are frequently surprising new applications of AI, both positive and negative. We will terminate API access for obviously harmful use-cases, such as harassment, spam, radicalization, or astroturfing. But we also know we can’t anticipate all of the possible consequences of this technology, so we are launching today in a private beta rather than general availability, building tools to help users better control the content our API returns, and researching safety-relevant aspects of language technology (such as analyzing, mitigating, and intervening on harmful bias). We’ll share what we learn so that our users and the broader community can build more human-positive AI systems.

With GPT‑2, one of our key concerns was malicious use of the model (e.g., for disinformation), which is difficult to prevent once a model is open sourced. For the API, we’re able to better prevent misuse by limiting access to approved customers and use cases. We have a mandatory production review process before proposed applications can go live. In production reviews, we evaluate applications across a few axes, asking questions like: Is this a currently supported use case?, How open-ended is the application?, How risky is the application?, How do you plan to address potential misuse?, and Who are the end users of your application?.

We terminate API access for use cases that are found to cause (or are intended to cause) physical, emotional, or psychological harm to people, including but not limited to harassment, intentional deception, radicalization, astroturfing, or spam, as well as applications that have insufficient guardrails to limit misuse by end users. As we gain more experience operating the API in practice, we will continually refine the categories of use we are able to support, both to broaden the range of applications we can support, and to create finer-grained categories for those we have misuse concerns about.

One key factor we consider in approving uses of the API is the extent to which an application exhibits open-ended versus constrained behavior with regard to the underlying generative capabilities of the system. Open-ended applications of the API (i.e., ones that enable frictionless generation of large amounts of customizable text via arbitrary prompts) are especially susceptible to misuse. Constraints that can make generative use cases safer include systems design that keeps a human in the loop, end user access restrictions, post-processing of outputs, content filtration, input/output length limitations, active monitoring, and topicality limitations.

We are also continuing to conduct research into the potential misuses of models served by the API, including with third-party researchers via our academic access program⁠(opens in a new window). We’re starting with a very limited number of researchers at this time and already have some results from our academic partners at Middlebury Institute⁠(opens in a new window), University of Washington, and Allen Institute for AI⁠(opens in a new window). We have tens of thousands of applicants for this program already and are currently prioritizing applications focused on fairness and representation research.