The unstoppable craze of Sam Altman and OpenAI

In the realm of technological advancements, artificial intelligence has emerged as a formidable force, with the potential to revolutionize industries and transform the way we interact with machines. Among the latest A.I. marvels, ChatGPT, powered by OpenAI, has become an immensely popular craze, captivating businesses and individuals alike. Take, for instance, my brief run-in with OpenAI’s founder and CEO, Sam Altman.

I eagerly woke up at the crack of dawn and darted through San Francisco to nab a prime spot for Altman’s panel. He had spoken at South by Southwest (SXSW) a few months back, drawing crowds that filled the room and spilled into the overflow area, where we all resorted to squinting at his talk on our phone screens. Determined to skip the endless queue, I sprinted to the registration booth, only to find myself face-to-face with the A.I. guru himself.

Altman, encircled by several vigilant handlers on high alert for journalists like me, stood nonchalantly clutching a plain coffee cup in one hand and his iPhone in the other. He stood at a modest 5’6″ stature, a detail I hadn’t quite prepared for, sporting the quintessential attire of a fabulously wealthy Silicon Valley executive: a nondescript gray long-sleeve, jeans, and sneakers.

As I approached to introduce myself, the PR handler swiftly zeroed in on my intentions before I could even say hello. In front of Altman, a guy in a blazer and face mask was blurting out words faster than his brain could assemble them. Turns out, he was an Apple employee and devoted ChatGPT user, who wanted to explain his gratitude for the tech. Altman, visibly irked by the early morning spectacle, was promptly whisked away by his blazer-clad entourage the moment I mentioned I was a writer for Fortune. Shortly after, I bumped into a PR pal who spilled that Altman was scouting for a new comms chief—a gig they’d give their right arm for, apparently.

The high-intensity buzz that surrounds Altman is something to behold. Bloomberg changed its entire event schedule to accommodate Altman’s last-minute dinner plans at the White House, slotting him as the first speaker of the day. Then came Reid Hoffman from Greylock Partners and Mustafa Suleyman from Inflection AI, answering questions about Altman’s panel and joking that he’s “already left the building.” Next up, Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky was asked about how his company plans to outshine OpenAI. The conference, not necessarily dedicated to A.I., quickly fell into place with the hype—nearly, if not every, speaker was asked about A.I.

This hype is not necessarily unprecedented, either. You could akin this to the cult of personality around Steve Jobs and the invention of the iPhone, or even Mark Zuckerberg in the early Facebook days. Altman is just the latest in a long line of techno visionaries whose disruptive invention has captivated the world. It helps that his whole schtick is elusive, warning lawmakers of the dangers his technology presents, making him the modern-day enigma that keeps the tech world on its toes.

The ChatGPT (and by proxy, Sam Altman and OpenAI) craze shows no signs of abating anytime soon. As A.I. technologies continue to evolve, we can expect even more sophisticated versions of ChatGPT, and of course, new generative A.I.’s competing for the spotlight, capable of understanding nuances, emotions, and complex contexts. 

As this new technology takes off on a seemingly uncontrollable exponential curve, it’s clear that Altman will remain in the spotlight as the de facto captain of the field. What he does with this intense fame is yet to be seen, but he’s made it clear that he’s not taking the Elon Musk, boy-genius route any time soon.

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Kylie Robison

Data Sheet’s daily news section was written and curated by Andrea Guzman.

NEWSWORTHY

Meta's news blackout in Canada. Sensing the looming passage of the Online News Act in Canada, Meta threatened to end access to news content for Canadian users of Facebook and Instagram earlier this month. Now, the company is ready to follow through on that plan and will start blocking news for Canadian users over the next few months. The law forces Meta, Google, and others to pay news outlets for posting their reporting on various platforms in a move that Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says will help news businesses “receive fair compensation for their work." But Meta doesn’t see it that way, and has already carried out tests to remove news for a small percentage of Canadians, the CBC reports.

TikTok wades into e-commerce. Social media platform TikTok is testing a new in-app shopping section in the U.K. that offers products sold and shipped by a subsidiary of parent company ByteDance. Known as “Trendy Beat,” TikTok might expand its tests to the U.S. since the company filed a trademark application for it last month. The Financial Times reports that it’s all part of TikTok’s “Project S” plans in which the platform uses its familiarity of products that the app’s users are drawn to and then calls on ByteDance to acquire or manufacture those goods. And Trendy Beat seems ready to rival Shein and Amazon, as the trademark application mentions various apparel items like dresses, footwear, sweaters, skirts, shirts, and more.

Tech CEOs meet with Modi and Biden. U.S. President Joe Biden and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi are having a meeting on A.I., manufacturing, and innovation with the CEOs of Microsoft, Apple, Google, AMD, and OpenAI. Ahead of the meeting, the leaders of the two nations have announced agreements on technology and supply chains. That includes a more than $800 million investment toward a Micron semiconductor facility in Gujarat, one of India’s largest states. And India committed to join a U.S.-led space exploration initiative known as the Artemis Accords. The U.S.’s increased partnership with India comes as it moves to shift critical technology supply chains away from China, the Wall Street Journal reports.

ON OUR FEED

“While there is still a massive audience and meaningful opportunities on TikTok, we believe that creators can not be overly reliant on TikTok for long-term business building.”

—Reed Duchscher, the CEO and founder of creator talent agency Night, in a letter to clients about the “state of the creator economy.” Duchscher, who manages MrBeast and other top internet stars, stressed the regulatory risk around TikTok and declared YouTube as the “centerpiece” platform for building a brand.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Dropbox CEO on what differentiates A.I. and the human brain: Computers can handle loads of information and not get tired, by Phil Wahba

‘Titanic’ director James Cameron blames Titan sub disaster on OceanGate’s ‘completely inappropriate’ carbon fiber design: ‘It was a horrible idea’, by Nicholas Gordon

Amazon isn’t launching a Google-style ‘Code Red’ to catch up with Big Tech rivals on A.I.: ‘We’re 3 steps into a 10K race’, by Eleanor Pringle

Linda Yaccarino is trying to fix Twitter’s accounting nightmare after Elon Musk refused to pay the company’s bills, by Rachel Shin

Australia cracks down on Elon Musk, demands Twitter explain surge in harmful posts—or face fines of nearly $500,000 per day, by Chris Morris

BEFORE YOU GO

Amazon’s 'dark patterns'. User-interface designs by big tech companies can have qualities known as “dark patterns.” The design practices have people make choices they would not otherwise have made and that have the potential to cause harm like spending significant money. And at Amazon, they're used to manipulate consumers into automatic renewal of a Prime subscription, the Federal Trade Commission alleges.

One dark pattern is the “roach motel” technique that makes it purposefully difficult for users to reach their intended destination such as the button to cancel a Prime membership. There’s also “forced action,” which calls on shoppers who aren’t members of Prime to choose whether to enroll in the program before they can finish their purchase. And Amazon has been accused of “sneaking” as well, which involves hiding or disguising important information such as the Prime terms and conditions. Fortune explored Amazon’s website and overall shopping experience for examples of these and all the rest like interface interference, confirm-shaming, and misdirection. Still, Amazon calls the FTC’s allegations false “on the facts and the law.”