In a recent personal blog post, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that although artificial intelligence (AI) has significant potential, its benefits may not be widely distributed at first. He introduced the concept of a "computational budget" aimed at ensuring that everyone around the world can access a vast array of AI technologies, thereby promoting the widespread distribution of technological benefits.
Altman noted that historical experience shows that technological advancements often improve many key metrics, such as health and economic prosperity, in the long run. However, increasing equality is not solely determined by technology and may require new approaches to achieve it. He indicated that the balance of power between capital and labor could be disrupted, necessitating proactive measures.
He believes that artificial general intelligence (AGI) is on the horizon, referring to systems capable of solving increasingly complex problems at human-level across multiple domains. However, Altman cautioned that these systems may require significant human oversight and could perform surprisingly poorly in some areas.
Despite the potentially high costs of achieving AGI, Altman pointed out that the expenses for using AI at the same level are expected to decrease tenfold each year. He mentioned companies like Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which demonstrate the trend of AI models becoming cheaper. He also acknowledged that achieving AGI and its subsequent development will still require substantial investment.
Regarding the future of OpenAI, Altman stated that the company will make significant decisions and impose certain restrictions on AGI safety, which may spark controversy. Previously, OpenAI committed to not competing with any projects that are close to achieving AGI in terms of "value alignment" and "safety awareness," choosing instead to assist them.
Currently, OpenAI is undergoing a transformation from a non-profit organization to a traditional for-profit entity. Altman revealed that OpenAI aims to achieve $100 billion in revenue by 2029, approaching the annual sales figures of some large corporations.
In the process of building more powerful AI, OpenAI hopes to gradually enhance individual empowerment while avoiding the use of AI by authoritarian governments to control people. He acknowledged that OpenAI's decisions regarding open-source technology may not be ideal and expressed a desire to open up technology more in the future, seeking a balance between safety and individual empowerment.
Altman's article comes just as the Paris AI Action Summit is taking place this week, where many prominent figures in the tech industry are sharing their views on the future of AI.
Blog: https://blog.samaltman.com/three-observations
Key Points:
🌐 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman believes that the benefits of AI may not be widely distributed in the early stages.
🤖 He proposed the concept of a "computational budget" to enable global users to access AI technology.
💡 Altman emphasized that AGI is imminent but will require substantial human oversight, while striving to balance safety and individual empowerment.