A fireside chat with Sam Altman OpenAI CEO at Harvard University

Patrick Chung, Harvard JD/MBA and Managing General Partner of Xfund, interviews Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, on May 1, 2024 at Memorial Church on the Harvard University campus. They discuss Altman's formative years, common misconceptions, the future of AI, and OpenAI. This event was organized by the Harvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society (BiGS), the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Harvard Kennedy School, and Xfund.

Highlights from this insightful conversation:

– 14:44: Why when you started OpenAI did you decide on a not-for-profit company?
– 22:31: Can you tell us about a difficult product decision you had to make?
– 25:00: When you make decisions, do you have a dichotomy in your mind? Ex: safety vs. progress, efficiency vs profit.
– 27:29: What question would you most like to be asked about artificial general intelligence? Answer it.
_ 31:07: What do you think people are getting wrong about OpenAI right now?
– 32:23: How do you regain momentum after pivoting in terms of your values?
– 34:10: How do you think AI’s role and impact will be in inequality in healthcare and education?
– 37:10: Do you envision OpenAI trying out other monetization strategies besides the subscription model?
– 40:14: Did competition change innovation?
– 41:37: What do you think public education curriculum on artificial intelligence should look like?
– 43:43: What do you think most entrepreneurs and VCs are getting wrong about the future of AI?
– 45:52: How much exposure does OpenAI have to energy constraints?
– 47:54: What do you and other leaders at OpenAI disagree on the most?
– 48:55: Does our passion for scientific progress lead us down a dangerous path?
– 51:21: What do you think industry should address to increase public trust of AI?

[andreasmoyseos]

An AI discussion from 6 months ago is like a history lesson.

[Akhone]

I was in the crowd. I got to say, you all are lucky to be able to skip the yapp sesh at the beginning.

[labsanta]

00:04 Introduction to the event and relevance of artificial intelligence
02:31 Patrick Chung was Sam Altman's first investor
07:30 Sam Altman's early interests and experiences
09:49 Excitement about AI potential despite initial challenges
14:21 Deciding when to give up on a startup is subjective
16:36 Transition from initial research to successful product development
20:21 Realization of unprecedented scalability and predictability in language models
22:15 OpenAI CEO emphasizes the importance of research directions in making product decisions
26:15 OpenAI CEO shares perspective on societal negotiation for technology usage
28:21 AGI will participate in society and the economy.
32:58 The technological wave allows for adaptability and resilience
35:19 AI tools should be available for free for global benefit
39:36 Exploring ways to improve free tier and API access
41:29 Encouraging people to be effective with AI tools
45:29 OpenAI's commitment to improving their models
47:23 Encouragement to work on Fusion and Solar Plus Storage
51:16 Misconceptions about AI need serious attention
53:21 Discussion on personal relaxation habits
58:37 Sam Altman honored for impact on AI

[pppakoficial]

– 14:44​: Why when you started OpenAI did you decide on a not-for-profit company?
– 22:31​: Can you tell us about a difficult product decision you had to make?
– 25:00​: When you make decisions, do you have a dichotomy in your mind? Ex: safety vs. progress, efficiency vs profit.
– 27:29​: What question would you most like to be asked about artificial general intelligence? Answer it.
_ 31:07​: What do you think people are getting wrong about OpenAI right now?
– 32:23​: How do you regain momentum after pivoting in terms of your values?
– 34:10​: How do you think AI’s role and impact will be in inequality in healthcare and education?
– 37:10​: Do you envision OpenAI trying out other monetization strategies besides the subscription model?
– 40:14​: Did competition change innovation?
– 41:37​: What do you think public education curriculum on artificial intelligence should look like?
– 43:43​: What do you think most entrepreneurs and VCs are getting wrong about the future of AI?
– 45:52​: How much exposure does OpenAI have to energy constraints?
– 47:54​: What do you and other leaders at OpenAI disagree on the most?
– 48:55​: Does our passion for scientific progress lead us down a dangerous path?
– 51:21​: What do you think industry should address to increase public trust of AI?

[djai]

41:31 "Other people will keep copying where we've been and I am kind of fine with it." - The incredible ease of superiority 😊

[JOHANNARAQUELVAZQUEZLOPEZ-on]

"Your content is always so engaging and well-produced! Keep up the fantastic work!"

[phoenixthottam]

Outstanding interview and YouTube clip provide a wealth of valuable insights. It is highly recommended that everyone take the time to watch the entire interview and clip, preferably twice, to fully absorb the information presented.

[JudeMarchisio]

3:29 is when this yapper stops yapping.

[drumunene]

Thanks HBS for opening your doors for all of us who couldnt get the chance to see Sam in person

[aresaurelian]

This is precisely what we needed. Thank you. 1:1.

[AIForHumansShow]

haha that first "GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY" love this interview and thanks for uploading

[olivierporte]

This is great, but why the delay in uploading this? This talk was done on May 1 and only uploaded today (October 16) 🤔

[pelangos]

Fantastic!! Love to see tech leader interviews like this

[MicahBratt]

To Sam's point about not understanding why the world didn't get AI earlier. Personally I had been following the progress in AI on and off for years and was aware that it was getting better but it wasn't mind blowing. Along the way I had discovered Open AI's website but hadn't really checked back until randomly I decided to see what was going on with AI in early 2023. I happened to find my way to the Open AI test api and was quickly blown away by the response! I almost immediately shared it with several of my close friends (which I rarely do) and literally in the next few weeks it blew up. Sometimes the stars align and everyone just gets it all at once.

[whemmakatatt]

This a marketing masterclass and not much else.
How quickly did for profit change their talks xD

[cardiderek]

The fact that it REQUIRES scale to get better is the problem in and of itself.

[Wodz]

The start of the video has a photo at Harvard - the title at @00:00 says the talk is at Memorial Church (which is in harvard yard) but the actual tower there with the white top is Eliot House at the River Quad lol. I think only Harvard alum would notice this but.. wanted to pass this along to anyone that might care. That is Eliot :)

[rasha]

Dang came in with that Nardwuar level gift and question Great job

[ramble]

Thanks for making the date clear. Thumbs up

[haraanganjotsingh]

Maintained the attention for an entire hour, why hasn’t that ever happened in school lectures ?