November 2022

On November 30, 2022, OpenAI releases the generative artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT to the public. The chatbot—more sophisticated than popular predecessors found in Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant—soon sets records as the fastest growing technology product in history.

ChatGPT built on the startup’s seven years of development work on large language models (LLMs), computer programs that learn from vast amounts of text to read, write and converse in natural language. In 2020, OpenAI released GPT-3, an LLM trained on an astonishing 175 billion parameters and 45 terabytes of data , including digitized books, websites, -sourced URLs and Wikipedia entries. This training, paired with natural language processing, allows the model to analyze a prompt and generate a response by predicting the word in a series. As a “ spin-off ” of GPT-3, ChatGPT harnessed this technology through a conversational chatbot using GPT-3.5.

The Birth of the Internet

On October 29, 1969, Stanford programmer Bill Duvall sent a single-word message—"login"—to UCLA student programmer Charley Kline, 350 miles away. Transmitted between two computers that each filled an entire room, this message marked the first communication between networked computers and is widely regarded as the birth of the internet.

OpenAI allowed users to try a preview of ChatGPT for free, sparking rapid adoption. The chatbot attracted 1 million users within five days, according to its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, and quickly grew into a viral phenomenon. Its breakneck user growth set the record for the fastest-growing consumer app in history, according to investment bank UBS. Analysts there estimated ChatGPT had hit 100 million monthly users in January 2023; what OpenAI had achieved within roughly two months took TikTok nine months and Instagram 2.5 years. By March 2023, according to a Pew Research Center poll, 14 percent of U.S. adults had tried ChatGPT.

Altman described ChatGPT in a 2025 blog post as “already more powerful than any human that has ever lived,” though not everyone agrees . ChatGPT’s ability to write text and code as well as analyze data and generate images has shaken up the fields of education , computer science , law and management consulting , to name a few. Among teenagers, 26 percent say they have used ChatGPT for schoolwork, as high schools and colleges decide how, and whether, to integrate AI tools into the classroom.

Many other companies have also released AI chatbots. Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, Anthropic’s Claude and xAI’s Grok all launched to the public in the months and years following the introduction of ChatGPT. OpenAI and its fellow tech titans acknowledge that their creations come with great possibilities and great risks. In 2023, a group of AI scientists and industry leaders signed a safety statement , affirming that “mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority.” At the same time, Altman has said “the future can be vastly better than the present” with the help of artificial intelligence.

7 Early Imaginings of Artificial Intelligence

Humans have conceived versions of intelligent machines for centuries.

Humans have conceived versions of intelligent machines for centuries.

The benefits and pitfalls of AI remain controversial. Advocates tout the potential productivity gains and growth in GDP that could result from the incorporation of AI tools in the workplace. In science and medicine, they might lead to new research breakthroughs and life-saving advancements in care . Still, AI text-generating tools are prone to hallucinate by presenting incorrect information as fact. Some people have suffered “ AI psychosis ” after interacting with chatbots that encourage delusional thinking. Then, there is the environmental impact. AI chatbots like ChatGPT require an incredible amount of water and power to keep their data centers running.

OpenAI has steadily released more advanced models, including GPT-4 and GPT-5, and adoption rates for the software have continued to climb. In early November 2025, as ChatGPT approached its third anniversary, the company reported some 800 million people used the chatbot every week.

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on November 30th

Galileo begins observing the moon

Galileo Galilei first begins observing the moon with his telescope on November 30, 1609. He discovers that the surface of the moon is not smooth, as previously thought, but full of mountains and valleys, like Earth. Galileo was an Italian astronomer and physicist. In 1609, he constructed his own telescope to observe the heavens. Dutch […]

Samuel Clemens, later known as Mark Twain, is born in Florida, Missouri, on November 30, 1835. Clemens was apprenticed to a printer at age 13 and later worked for his older brother, who established the Hannibal Journal. In 1857, the Keokuk Daily Post commissioned him to write a series of comic travel letters, but after […]

Battle of Franklin, Tennessee

On November 30, 1864, the once proud Confederate Army of Tennessee suffers a devastating defeat after its commander, General John Bell Hood, orders a frontal assault on strong Union positions around Franklin, Tennessee. The loss cost Hood six of his finest generals and nearly a third of his force. Hood assumed command in late July […]

Winston Churchill born

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through the crisis of World War II, is born at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England. Churchill came from a prestigious family with a long history of military service and joined the British Fourth Hussars upon his father’s death in 1895. During […]

First Thanksgiving college football game played

On November 30, 1876, Yale defeats Princeton, 2-0, in Hoboken, New Jersey in the first collegiate football game played on Thanksgiving. Nearly 1,000 fans attend the game, played in cold, rainy weather. “The friends of both colleges mustered in good force,” the New York Times reports. “Several carriages containing ladies were on the ground, and […]

Folies Bergère stages first revue

The Folies Bergère—a hall for operettas, pantomime, political meetings, and vaudeville—opens in Paris and becomes the city's premier nightlife spot.

U.S.S.R. attacks Finland

On November 30, 1939, the Red Army crosses the Soviet-Finnish border with 465,000 men and 1,000 aircraft. Helsinki was bombed, and 61 Finns were killed in an air raid that steeled the Finns for resistance, not capitulation. The overwhelming forces arrayed against Finland convinced most Western nations, as well as the Soviets themselves, that the […]

President Truman refuses to rule out atomic weapons

On November 30, 1950, President Harry S. Truman announces during a press conference that he is prepared to authorize the use of atomic weapons in order to achieve peace in Korea. At the time of Truman’s announcement, communist China had joined North Korean forces in their attacks on United Nations troops, including U.S. soldiers, who […]

Meteorite strikes Alabama woman

The first modern instance of a meteorite striking a human being occurs at Sylacauga, Alabama, when a meteorite crashes through the roof of a house and into a living room, bounces off a radio, and strikes a woman on the hip. The victim, Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges, was sleeping on a couch at the time of […]

Ralph Nader’s “Unsafe at Any Speed” hits bookstores

On November 30, 1965, 32-year-old lawyer Ralph Nader publishes the muckraking book Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile. The book became a best-seller right away. It also prompted the passage of the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, seat-belt laws in 49 states (all but New Hampshire) […]

“Elton John’s Greatest Hits” reaches #1

On November 30, 1974, Elton John’s Greatest Hits began a 10-week run atop the Billboard 200 pop album chart on its way to selling more than 24 million copies worldwide. Elton John was born and raised as Reginald Dwight in suburban London, and if you’d rearranged his DNA or his childhood environment just a bit, […]

The United States and U.S.S.R. open talks to reduce intermediate-range nuclear forces

Representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union open talks to reduce their intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF) in Europe. The talks lasted until December 17, but ended inconclusively. SALT I (1972) and SALT II (1979) reduced the number of strategic nuclear weapons held by the two superpowers, but left unresolved the issue of the […]

Serial killer Aileen Wuornos strikes in Florida

On November 30, 1989, Florida storeowner Richard Mallory is last seen with serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Mallory became the first of seven victims that Wuornos murdered within the course of a year.

Brady Bill signed into law

During a White House ceremony attended by James S. Brady, President Bill Clinton signs the Brady handgun-control bill into law. The law requires a prospective handgun buyer to wait five business days while the authorities check on his or her background, during which time the sale is approved or prohibited based on an established set […]

“Jeopardy!” contestant’s record winning streak ends

On November 30, 2004, after winning 74 straight games and more than $2.5 million—a record for U.S. game shows—Jeopardy! contestant Ken Jennings loses. Jennings’ extended winning streak gave the game show a huge ratings boost and turned the software engineer from Salt Lake City, Utah into a TV hero and household name. Barbara Walters named […]

How an Anonymous Parisian Became the First Person Ever Photographed

An 1838 photo that accidentally captured a man getting a shoe shine on a Paris street was almost lost to history. Twice.

Why Coca-Cola’s ‘New Coke’ Flopped

Coca-Cola’s disastrous attempt at rebranding Coke in 1985 delivered a painful lesson: Don't mess with a classic.

Who Invented Television?

Multiple inventors deserve credit for the technology, which had its origins in the 19th century.

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