OpenAI boss Sam Altman has warned people could be left with \u201cno freedom\u201d, \u201cno agency\u201d and \u201cno privacy\u201d in an AI-controlled future.<\/p>\n
The 39-year-old tech mogul described the dystopian prediction during a conversation with Y Combinator\u2019s Garry Tan at Startup School 2026 in San Francisco last weekend.<\/p>\n
The two-day gathering was held on July 25 and 26 and brought together thousands of technology movers and shakers across the globe.<\/p>\n
When asked what life could look like under superintelligence, Mr Altman – who co-founded the multibillion-dollar company behind ChatGPT – said humanity would \u201cprobably be mostly okay\u201d, but warned of one outcome.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m particularly nervous about 10 years from now if we overreact to AI safety. And so we say, look, everyone, you\u2019re going to get a cure for cancer, you\u2019re going to have material abundance, but you will have no freedom, you will have no agency, it will be a perfect surveillance state.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be no privacy. And that\u2019s what you\u2019re going to get. You\u2019re going to get great comfort, but there will be nothing left in the world for you to really do. Nothing that really matters. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll just kind of live at the service of the AI giving you material wealth. I\u2019d really like to avoid that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Altman added that societies could easily accept temporary trade-offs, arguing freedom and individual agency should increase each year as artificial intelligence becomes more powerful.<\/p>\n
The remarks sparked widespread debate after segments of Mr Altman\u2019s speech were shared online.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
One clip attracted over 6000 comments, with many interpreting the comments as a prediction or endorsement of the future Mr Altman described.<\/p>\n
\u201cNotice how it\u2019s all \u2018you\u2019 and not \u2018we\u2019?,\u201d one comment, liked more than 100,000 times, read.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m confused, is this a selling point or?\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
Others urged viewers to watch the conference in its entirety, noting Mr Altman had raised the scenario as an example of a future that should be prevented.<\/p>\n
During the speech, Mr Altman further warned AI could distribute power more widely than ever before or concentrate it to an unprecedented degree.<\/p>\n
The CEO said it would be dangerous for one company, person or AI model to wield overwhelming power, arguing people should not be locked into a single organisation\u2019s moral worldview.<\/p>\n
Mr Altman also predicted AI models would improve rapidly, saying progress over the next six months could feel comparable to that recorded over the previous two years.<\/p>\n
It comes just days after the billionaire was brutally roasted online after appearing to suggest parents turn to AI to help understand their children.<\/p>\n
\u201cConnect your family calendars and explain your kids\u2019 interests,\u201d Mr Altman wrote to his audience.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery morning on the drive to school, have it make a podcast that talks about one kid\u2019s soccer game that afternoon, one kid\u2019s upcoming birthday, some news, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
Within minutes, the comment section erupted with fed-up parents and critics offering the Silicon Valley pioneer a collective reality check \u2013 reminding him that a low-tech, time-tested solution already exists.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat if you just talked to your children?\u201d Alex Hirsch, the American animator behind television series Gravity Falls, asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cOr the parents could just have a conversation with the kids about those things,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren\u2019s affairs require careful attention, and your current models cannot match children\u2019s creative thinking,\u201d echoed a third.<\/p>\n
Mr Altman, who welcomed his first child via surrogate with husband Oliver Mulherin earlier this year, has touted the revolutionary potential of AI across every facet of human life.<\/p>\n
However, child psychologists and parenting experts have frequently warned against relying on screens and algorithms to mediate parent-child relationships, emphasising that non-verbal cues, mistakes, and face-to-face connection are crucial for emotional development. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"OpenAI boss Sam Altman has warned people could be left with \u201cno freedom\u201d, \u201cno agency\u201d and \u201cno 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