Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and chair of Tools for Humanity, has expressed his belief that the advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to a significant restructuring of socioeconomics. Altman recently shared his vision of treating “compute” as a valuable resource, potentially replacing monetary income as a means of providing a universal basic income (UBI) during an interview on the All-In podcast.
During the interview, Altman discussed the potential dangers of AI and how society would handle threats such as human extinction and job displacement caused by AI. Altman acknowledged that AI models could pose significant threats in the future and proposed the establishment of a global oversight board to regulate major projects, allowing startups to operate with fewer restrictions.
Altman reassured the All-In team that OpenAI’s current state-of-the-art production model, GPT-4, does not pose a significant threat to human lives.
Altman is well-known for his advocacy of UBI and believes it could address employment concerns. In addition to leading OpenAI, Altman also heads Tools for Humanity, a company that offers the Worldcoin cryptocurrency and identity verification platform. Worldcoin is distributed to individuals who verify their humanity, and they receive a monthly token stipend.
Speaking to the All-In team, Altman criticized government poverty assistance programs as ineffective and called for a straightforward and respectful approach to UBI. He acknowledged that providing money alone would not solve all problems or guarantee happiness but suggested that it could alleviate some issues and provide individuals with a better outlook to help themselves.
Altman explained that his support for UBI stems from recognizing the potential far-reaching effects of AI when OpenAI began taking it seriously in 2016. Through their studies, Altman and his colleagues discovered the promise of UBI.
Now, Altman believes that the UBI paradigm itself could undergo a significant transformation.
In related news, there are reports that Apple is finalizing a deal with OpenAI for the integration of ChatGPT into iPhones.