"My Child Is Never Going To Grow Up Being Smarter Than AI": ChatGPT Maker OpenAI CEO

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has claimed that his child will "never" be smarter than AI. The entrepreneur, on a recent podcast appearance, shared his vision of a future where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence. The soon-to-be-father believes this shift will be a natural part of life for generations.

"My kid is never gonna grow up being smarter than AI," Mr Altman remarked on the Re: Thinking podcast with Adam Grant, saying such a reality would soon feel natural. "Of course, it's smarter than us. Of course, it can do things we can't, but also who really cares?" he added.

Sam Altman, preparing to welcome a child with his husband Oliver Mulherin, reflected on what skills his kid might need to thrive in an AI-driven world. He claims raw intelligence will take a backseat, saying, "There will be a kind of ability we still really value, but it will not be raw, intellectual horsepower to the same degree." Instead, what mattered most was figuring out the right questions to ask over simply finding answers, he said.

"The prompting tricks that a lot of people were using in 2023 are no longer relevant," Mr Altman said, adding the way humans interact with AI will evolve, requiring deeper, more thoughtful engagement.

Podcast host Adam Grant also offered his perspective, suggesting that being a "connector of dots" will outweigh being a "collector of facts" in this new era. Mr Altman agreed, recounting how resistance to tools like Google in schools ultimately gave way to more impactful ways of learning. "I expect AI to be like that too," he concluded.

Drawing on AI's evolution in chess, Mr Altman said that early models lost to humans but eventually beat them. However, he pointed out that the best results come from teamwork. "Ultimately, AI and humans working together in chess beat an AI team," he said.

Sam Altman's vision for the future is one where AI revolutionises the economy and workforce, shifting the focus from raw intelligence to other human skills.

"Eventually, I think the whole economy transforms," he said, addressing concerns about job displacement. But he is optimistic about humanity's ability to adapt, saying, "We always find new jobs, even though every time we stare at a new technology, we assume they're all going to go away."

On Friday, Mr Altman announced that OpenAI had finalised its 'o3 mini' reasoning AI model, with plans to launch it within weeks. The model, an advanced version of OpenAI's 'o1' models, is designed to handle more complex tasks in areas such as science, coding, and math. The 'o3 mini' is seen as a response to competitors like Google's AI systems.