Is Sam Altman, the ‘father of ChatGPT’, the most important thinker in the world right now? – The Irish Times

Is Sam Altman the most important thinker in the world right now? The “father of ChatGPT” is on a global sales mission. As CEO of the chatbot’s maker, OpenAI, he is not just marketing a product. He is an artificial intelligence (AI) evangelist. While not blind to the risks of unregulated AI, he believes those trying to put the brakes on the new technology are losing sight of how we can “dramatically increase . . . the amount of output that one person can have”.

What makes Altman fascinating is the mix of idealism and instrumentalism.

Giving us a glimpse of the brave new world under…