- AI’s rapid progress is a double-edged sword, the nature of work is being irreversibly changed, ethical alignment is urgent and unresolved, and the cultural response is divided but vital, Sam Altman told popular podcaster Theo Von. Their interview felt like staring into the void, at times, with human purpose in danger of being wiped out by the rapid advance of technology. Altman agreed with almost all the doubts that Von raised, but offered a hopeful vision. Still, he said, children’s and everyone’s digital well-being will require attention going forward.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and one of the most influential voices in artificial intelligence, sat down with comedian Theo Von for an expansive, in-depth conversation on a new episode of Von’s tremendously popular podcast, This Past Weekend. Their hour-and-a-half dialogue, recorded at OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco, traversed the urgent race to develop more powerful AI, the destabilizing impact of automation on the workforce, the hopes and fears animating Silicon Valley, and Altman’s personal anxieties about the tech shaping our world.
