- 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 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.
From the jump, Von pressed Altman about the breakneck pace of AI development. “Do you think there should be like kind of like a slowing things down?” Von asked, adding, “That’s one of the reasons I get scared sometimes to use certain AI stuff because I don’t know how much personal information I want to put in because I don’t know who’s going to have it.”
Altman compared the current climate among leading AI companies to an intense “race”—not just for commercial dominance, but because the values guiding today’s development will echo for generations. He said if OpenAI does not move quickly, someone else will, and the fate of AI could slip out of the hands of those most mindful about its social consequences.
Altman acknowledged how uncertain the future feels, both for those building these systems and for the broader society swept up in their wake. “I think all of human history suggests we find a way to put ourselves at the center of the story and feel really good about it … Even in a world where AI is doing all of this stuff that humans used to do, we are going to find a way in our own telling of the story to feel like the main characters.”
Neither Altman nor Von addressed the fact that AI might relegate humans to supporting characters, as many thought leaders warn of AI’s ability to endanger human life. Still, Altman said he thinks humans will continue to be the main characters going forward, “in an important sense.”
The reinvention of work and value
Von also asked whether people should be worried their jobs could be rendered obsolete by AI. “How will people survive?” he asked.
Altman argued AI will create possibilities for individuals to pursue more creative, philosophical, or interpersonal goals, but Von pushed back: “One of the big fears is like purpose, right? Like human purpose. Like work gives us purpose … if AI is to really continue to advance so quickly, it feels like our sense of purpose would start to really disappear.”
Altman said when everyone has the kind of access to instant expertise that AI enables, humans can remake the idea of what it means to contribute to society, though he cautioned the transition will be deeply unsettling for those whose livelihoods are displaced in the near term.
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
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