‘ChatGPT Is Already More Powerful Than Any Human,’ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Says

Humanity could be close to successfully building an artificial super intelligence, according to Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI and one of the faces of the AI boom.

“Robots are not yet walking the streets,” Altman wrote in a blog post late Wednesday, but said “in some big sense, ChatGPT is already more powerful than any human who has ever lived.”

Hundreds of millions of people use AI chatbots every day, Altman said. And companies are investing billions of dollars in AI and jockeying for users in what is quickly becoming a more crowded landscape. 

OpenAI, backed by Microsoft (MSFT), wants to build “a new generation of AI-powered computers,” and last month announced a $6.5 billion acquisition deal with that goal in mind. Meanwhile, Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Meta (META), and others are rolling out new tools that integrate AI more deeply into their users’ daily lives.

“The 2030s are likely going to be wildly different from any time that has come before,” Altman said. “We do not know how far beyond human-level intelligence we can go, but we are about to find out.” 

Eventually, there could be robots capable of building other robots designed for tasks in the physical world, Altman suggested.

In his blog post, Altman said he expects there could be “whole classes of jobs going away” as the technology develops, but that he believes “people are capable of adapting to almost anything” and that the rapid pace of technological progress could lead to policy changes.

But ultimately, “in the most important ways, the 2030s may not be wildly different,” Altman said, adding “people will still love their families, express their creativity, play games, and swim in lakes.”