OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Envisions Superintelligence in the Near Future

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company is moving towards developing superintelligence, after claiming to know how to build artificial general intelligence (AGI).

Altman believes that superintelligent tools could revolutionize scientific discovery, innovation, and increase global prosperity.

However, he acknowledged that AGI—AI systems that outperform humans in economically valuable work—remains a challenging concept, and OpenAI is working towards achieving it.

While Altman is confident that AI agents will soon join the workforce and change company outputs, current AI technology still faces significant limitations like hallucinations and errors. Despite this, OpenAI is optimistic that these obstacles will be overcome quickly.

Altman also emphasized the importance of careful development of superintelligent systems to maximize benefits and ensure safety.

However, OpenAI has been criticized for shifting its focus away from AI safety, especially after disbanding teams dedicated to the safety of superintelligent systems.

Critics argue that OpenAI’s increasing commercial ambitions have led to departures of influential safety researchers.