“Closer collaboration” between governments and AI companies will become “more important over time.” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAIspeaking here on Friday, emphasized the need to democratize technology and build strong infrastructure. Given the size of India’s economy, he emphasized, the country needs to work on all layers of the AI stack: from power and infrastructure to chips, frontier models and applications.
Altman was in India to attend the India-AI Impact Summit, where his company announced several partnerships, including a data center deal with Tata Consultancy Services, and plans to open new offices in Bangalore and Mumbai. Speaking to Express Adda, speaking to Indian Express Group Executive Director Ananth Goenka, Altman, one of today’s most influential technology leaders, spoke candidly about a range of issues that reflect both the breadth and depth of his engagement with AI and its place in the world.
He didn’t ask ChatGPT — how to be happy — why some use AI as a shortcut to homework, while others use it to break new ground, Altman, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, raised key questions about AI and power, the disruptive effects of technology and China’s role.
Asked about the latest update to the device that OpenAI is trying to create, for which it brought in celebrity designer Jony Ive — a key architect of Apple’s design — Altman said the company “will be able to talk about that by the end of this year.” He pointed out that this is a milestone in long arc equipment that has remained relatively unchanged.
Altman, one of today’s most influential technology leaders, speaks unequivocally on a range of issues that reflect both the breadth and depth of his engagement with AI and its place in the world. (Photo by Praveen Khanna Express)
“We’ve basically been using computers the same way for 50 years. The work Xerox PARC (Palo Alto Research Center) did in inventing all the concepts of windows and pointing devices, everything we take for granted now, is amazing. Putting it on the phone and adding multi-touch is also amazing. AI is a very different thing, they can do very complex things for you and the form factor of computers doesn’t quite work for it… I want to use technology to observe my life and it’s very useful.” “A new family of products that are really built around AI, that kind of gets involved in your life and doesn’t get in the way of it.”
Sam Altman on closer collaboration between tech and government
Answering a question on the relationship between Silicon Valley and the current US administration, Altman said, “I would say (it’s) close in some ways and not so closed in others. There are some tight ties, and then this administration also has some critics in tech. I think that close collaboration between tech companies and government will become more important over time,” he said.
“Given the scale of the impact (due to AI) on society and the need to really democratize this technology… governments need to get involved, companies like us need to get governments involved,” he said. He added: “AI will become one of the world’s most important political issues.”
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Asked which layers of the AI stack India should prioritize — energy, infrastructure, chips, frontier models and applications — the country should “play at all those levels,” Altman said.
Altman, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, raises key questions about AI and power, the disruptive effects of technology and China’s role. (Photo by Praveen Khanna Express)
Eventually people find new things to do: Sam Altman
In his conversations with world leaders and policymakers, Altman talks about infrastructure, jobs, the fair distribution of AI benefits and the security of such systems. On the much-anticipated impact of AI on current jobs, he says, “I love reading the history of technology. People panicked about jobs during the Industrial Revolution, and they were shockingly wrong. Society won’t change as fast as some people think. But eventually people will find new jobs.”
“None of them (back then) thought I’d be the CEO of an AI company, certainly none of them thought I’d be a YouTube influencer. So, it’s hard to imagine, but robustness with AI tools, resilience, adaptability, figuring out what people want, how to work with other people,” all of these things are very important.
However, he struck a cautionary note about how many existing jobs could change. “I think it’s useless to pretend that there isn’t a big change. The AI industry doesn’t change as fast as some people think, because societies are always more inertial. It always takes longer, but eventually the change is a lot more. And we find all kinds of things,” he said.
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Altman was in India to participate in the India-AI Impact Summit, where his company announced several partnerships. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)
Asked how the world would respond to China’s strength in AI, Altman said Beijing is ahead in manufacturing, robotics, electric motors and magnets, as well as its energy infrastructure, but the US is stronger in some areas.
Sam Altman: The first thing I admire about Google is Demis (Hassabis).
Altman acknowledges the role that AI scientists such as Google’s Demis Hassabis played in research when ChatGPT was first launched publicly in 2024, jointly launched in 2024, saying that if he can’t use ChatGPT, his preferred AI service for searching information is Google’s Gemini. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on AI for protein structure prediction.
“… The first thing I admire about Google is Demis (Hassabis) and the Google team who started working on AI with such conviction in the modern era. Without their inspiration, we certainly wouldn’t be here… Second, and most recently, their relentless focus and execution, their ability to really scale models….” Altman said.
