Altman said that the system he was describing "can kind of" create a piece of software from scratch all at once.

The test is whether Altman said this, not whether the system can actually do it. True: a recording or transcript of Altman's remarks on or around 2025-08-14 shows him saying, of the AI system he was describing (e.g. GPT-5), that it 'can kind of' create a piece of software from scratch all at once, or words to the same effect with the same hedge. Mostly true: he said this, but a minor detail differs, such as slightly different wording with the same meaning, a different date by a few days, or a different but related product named. Mixed: he said something related that only partly matches, such as being able to build software from scratch without the 'all at once' idea, or a claim about some future system rather than the one he was describing. Mostly false: the words appear, but in context they say something materially different, for example he was quoting or rejecting the idea. False: the record of the event shows he did not make the statement, or that someone else did.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Sam Altman on GPT-5, AI entrepreneurship, and why humanity still matters in an AI-first world Fortune India · 17 August 2025

   “You could use GPT-5 to write the software for a product, handle customer support, write marketing and communications plans, review legal documents — things that would have taken a lot of people and a lot of expertise, and now GPT-5 can help you do all of it.”

2. E2 Transcript: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Interview on Huge Conversations Podcast SingJupost · 9 August 2025

   “So this idea that GPT-5 can just not only answer all these hard questions for you, but really create on-demand, almost instantaneous software that’s, I think that’s going to be one of the defining elements of the GPT-5 era in a way that did not exist with GPT-4.”

3. E3 Transcript: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Interview on Huge Conversations Podcast SingjuPost · 9 August 2025

   “So this idea that GPT-5 can just not only answer all these hard questions for you, but really create on-demand, almost instantaneous software”

4. E4 Transcript: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s Interview on Huge Conversations Podcast SingjuPost · 9 August 2025

   “And of course it did that perfectly in seven seconds.”

5. E5 AI Podcast Transcript & Summary - Sam Altman x Nikhil Kamath: How to Win When AI Changes Everything | People by WTF | Episode 13 podcasttranscript.ai · 8 March 2026

   “acting as a versatile expert for tasks ranging from software creation to complex research.”

6. E6 You may also be interested in FinTech BizNews Service · 14 August 2025

   “You could use GPT-5 to help you write the software for a product, help you handle customer support, help you write marketing and communications plans, help you review legal documents”

7. E7 Interview Quotes - Sam Altman Shows Me GPT 5... And What's Next | TranscriptMate TranscriptMate · 1 November 2024

   “So this idea that GPT-5 can just not only like answer all these hard questions for you, but really create like on-demand, almost instantaneous software.”

None of the evidence contains the quoted words, the 'can kind of' hedge or the phrase 'from scratch all at once'. Reports dated around 2025-08-14 to 2025-08-17 (E1, E6) quote Altman saying GPT-5 can help write the software for a product. Transcripts of the separate Huge Conversations interview (E2, E3, E7) have him saying GPT-5 can 'create on-demand, almost instantaneous software'. These statements are related, but none shows the specific statement, and none shows he did not make it, so the record does not settle the claim.