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Wanna hear Sam Altman cowl all kinds of fascinating questions nobody ever asks him? The OpenAI CEO sat down with comic Theo Von for an hour-and-a-half deep dive that felt extra like remedy than tech speak. And actually? It is likely to be essentially the most human we’ve ever seen the man who’s constructing our AI future.
The man behind the machine
Sam’s a brand new dad as chances are you’ll know… it was fairly hilarious to hearken to him discuss his son gaining new capabilities like its a brand new AI mannequin.
That mentioned, Sam says his 4-month-old son won’t ever be smarter than AI. Not for a short interval. Never. “My kid will never ever be smarter than an AI,” he mentioned matter-of-factly. “That will never happen.”
Think about that for a second. We’re the final technology of people who received to be the neatest factor within the room, even when it was only for a number of years as youngsters.
Altman additionally received surprisingly private about how fatherhood modified all the things. He used to fret about not having the ability to take spontaneous worldwide journeys with a child. Now? “I don’t miss it at all. I’m thrilled with the trade.”
But right here’s the place it will get fascinating — when Theo requested if tech leaders are “a little autistic,” Altman didn’t dodge: “Are we a little autistic on the whole? I would say probably.” He thinks society wants individuals who suppose otherwise, even when they’re “computery.”
The honesty was refreshing. Most tech CEOs stick with rehearsed speaking factors. Altman admitted “no one knows what happens next” and in contrast AI improvement to the Manhattan Project scientists watching the Trinity check — a second of “what have we done?”
What’s coming subsequent
GPT-5 is already right here internally and apparently blew Altman’s thoughts. He examined it on a query he couldn’t reply himself, and it nailed it completely. His response? An “oh man, here it is” second that left him feeling briefly ineffective.
But the true game-changer isn’t simply smarter AI — it’s AI brokers that really do stuff for you. Altman confirmed off a system that may guide eating places, purchase merchandise, and deal with duties like a private assistant. “Doing this the old-fashioned way is going to feel like the stone age so quickly.”
And these large knowledge facilities? Altman simply visited their 1-gigawatt facility in Texas — the largest ever constructed. Standing in the course of it, he mentioned it appears to be like like “the motherboard of a computer” when considered from the air.
The uncomfortable truths
Altman didn’t sugarcoat the downsides. He’s “very afraid” of the surveillance state that AI will allow. Governments will need to monitor AI use to stop bioweapons and bombs, resulting in “more surveillance” than ever earlier than.
He’s additionally nervous about AI’s affect on psychological well being, particularly for youths. And that authorized privateness concern? If you inform ChatGPT your deepest secrets and techniques and there’s a lawsuit, they could possibly be pressured at hand over your conversations. There’s no therapist-patient privilege for AI but.
Why this issues
This interview revealed one thing essential: The individuals constructing our AI future are figuring it out as they go, similar to the remainder of us.
His prediction that we’ll want nuclear fusion to energy the AI revolution (we agree)? His admission that some days really feel “very fast” even to him? These aren’t the phrases of somebody with a grasp plan — they’re the phrases of somebody navigating uncharted territory in actual time.
