Hi folks! Tech reporter Kylie Robison here, glad to be filling in for Datasheet again. This week, I went to the Bloomberg Technology Summit, and noticed a common theme: the unstoppable craze of Sam Altman and OpenAI.
In the realm of technological advancements, artificial intelligence has emerged as a formidable force, with the potential to revolutionize industries and transform the way we interact with machines. Among the latest A.I. marvels, ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI, has become an immensely popular craze, captivating businesses and individuals alike. Take, for instance, my brief run-in with OpenAI’s founder and CEO, Sam Altman.
I eagerly woke up at the crack of dawn and darted through San Francisco to nab a prime spot for Altman’s panel. He had spoken at South by Southwest (SXSW) a few months back, drawing crowds that filled the room and spilled into the overflow area, where we all resorted to squinting at his talk on our phone screens. Determined to skip the endless queue, I sprinted to the registration booth, only to find myself face-to-face with the A.I. guru himself.
Altman, encircled by several vigilant handlers on high alert for journalists like me, stood nonchalantly clutching a plain coffee cup in one hand and his iPhone in the other. He stood at a modest 5'6" stature, a detail I hadn't quite prepared for, sporting the quintessential attire of a fabulously wealthy Silicon Valley executive: a nondescript gray long-sleeve, jeans, and sneakers.
As I approached to introduce myself, the PR handler swiftly zeroed in on my intentions before I could even say hello. In front of Altman, a guy in a blazer and face mask was blurting out words faster than his brain could assemble them. Turns out, he was an Apple employee and devoted ChatGPT user, who wanted to explain his gratitude for the tech. Altman, visibly irked by the early morning spectacle, was promptly whisked away by his blazer-clad entourage the moment I mentioned I was a writer for Fortune. Shortly after, I bumped into a PR pal who spilled that Altman was scouting for a new comms chief—a gig they'd give their right arm for, apparently.
The high-intensity buzz that surrounds Altman is something to behold. Bloomberg changed its entire event schedule to accommodate Altman’s last-minute dinner plans at the White House, slotting him as the first speaker of the day. Then came Reid Hoffman from Greylock Partners and Mustafa Suleyman from Inflection AI, answering questions about Altman’s panel and joking that he’s “already left the building.” Next up, Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky was asked about how his company plans to outshine OpenAI. The conference, not necessarily dedicated to A.I., quickly fell into place with the hype—nearly, if not every, speaker was asked about A.I.
This hype is not necessarily unprecedented, either. You could akin this to the cult of personality around Steve Jobs and the invention of the iPhone, or even Mark Zuckerberg in the early Facebook days. Altman is just the latest in a long line of techno visionaries whose disruptive invention has captivated the world. It helps that his whole schtick is elusive, warning lawmakers of the dangers his technology presents, making him the modern-day enigma that keeps the tech world on its toes.
The ChatGPT (and by proxy, Sam Altman and OpenAI) craze shows no signs of abating anytime soon. As A.I. technologies continue to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated versions of ChatGPT, and of course, new generative A.I.’s competing for the spotlight, capable of understanding nuances, emotions, and complex contexts.
As this new technology takes off on a seemingly uncontrollable exponential curve, it's clear that Altman will remain in the spotlight as the de facto captain of the field. What he does with this intense fame is yet to be seen, but he’s made it clear that he’s not taking the Elon Musk, boy-genius route any time soon.
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Kylie Robison
Data Sheet’s daily news section was written and curated by Andrea Guzman.
