OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says becoming a parent has changed him in ways he could not have anticipated, and many around him believe the shift will benefit his role as a leader in artificial intelligence. The 40-year-old and his husband, Australian software engineer Oliver Mulherin, welcomed a baby boy through surrogacy in February 2024, just weeks after marrying in Hawaii.
Colleagues’ reaction
Altman revealed that peers and colleagues have openly welcomed the change. “A lot of people have said, ‘I’m very happy you’re having a kid, because I think you’ll make better decisions for humanity as a whole,’” he said in a June interview with Bloomberg TV at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters.
He added that the impact was immediate. “I don’t think I have anything non-cliché to say here, but it is the best, most amazing thing ever. And it totally rewired all of my priorities,” Altman explained. He recalled how, within the first hour of his son’s birth, he felt a powerful shift. “I remember… I felt this neurochemical change, and it happened so fast. I was like, ‘Oh, I am being neurochemically hacked, but I’m noticing it happening. Everything is going to be different now.’”
Balancing family and AI ambitions
Altman’s new role as a father comes at a defining moment for OpenAI. The company is pursuing the Stargate project, a massive data-center initiative backed by investors and supported by U.S. President Donald Trump, which Altman has described as “the biggest infrastructure project in history.” The goal is to meet rapidly growing demand for AI computing power as OpenAI and rivals scale up their ambitions.
At the same time, Altman has acknowledged risks in the industry. He recently compared AI’s development to raising a child, noting that progress can feel subtle day to day but is rapid when viewed over time. He also admitted AI might be in a bubble, a statement that briefly unsettled AI-linked stocks.
A defining chapter
Altman has faced controversy during his leadership, including a brief ouster by OpenAI’s board in 2023, but has also overseen its rise into a global AI powerhouse with products like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s multibillion-dollar backing. For many, however, his colleagues’ focus is not just on his professional milestones but on how having a child may shape the choices he makes for humanity’s future.
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