OpenAI's Altman claims world is just 'couple of years' away from true super intelligence: 'Would do a better job than me'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman during his keynote address at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19

OpenAI co-founder and chief executive Sam Altman has claimed that the world is only a couple of years away from the first versions of true super intelligence.

“On our current trajectory, we may be only a couple of years away from early versions of true super intelligence,” Altman said at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi on February 19.

The top AI entrepreneur also claimed that it will be able to do a better job of being a CEO or do better research work than best scientists available today.

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“A Super intelligence at some point of its development curve would be capable of doing a better job being a CEO of a major company than any executive, certainly me or doing better research than our best scientists,” he pointed out.

Altman said most of the world’s intellectual capacity could reside in data centres than outside. In addition, Altman supported the calls for the democratization of AI, saying it is “only fair” and “safe path forward”. “It is the best way to ensure that humanity flourishes,” he added.

He also flagged concerns of centralization of the technology in one company or nation, highlighting that such cases could lead to “ruin”.

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“We need to start broadening how we think about safety to include societal resilience. No AI lab or system can deliver a good future on its own,” he noted.

Altman said the best way to protect AI’s future was by ensuring higher stake for people in the technology.

Referring to the fears of job losses in various industries, Altman said that he is “less concerned” about the long-term future and exuded confidence that things will return to normalcy in time. “Technology always disrupts jobs. We always find new and better things to do,” he said.

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“People 500 years ago would have thought that our current jobs often look silly. People 500 years from now hopefully will look to us like impossibly rich people playing games, trying to find ways to pass their time.”

Meanwhile, the ChatGPT-maker announced the opening of new offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru. The tech giant already has an office in Delhi-NCR.