Sam Altman, the 39-Year-Old Man Behind the Viral ChatGPT and Sora
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OpenAI, the world's hottest AI organization, has stirred waves of public discourse and even influenced the first market trend of A-shares after the Lunar New Year holiday.
From ChatGPT to Sora, the closer these creations get to human intelligence, the more they drive humanity into a frenzy. The mastermind behind this collective excitement is the ambitious 39-year-old Sam Altman, hailed by the media as the 'Father of ChatGPT'.
During the Lunar New Year holiday, on February 16, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman showcased the latest model, Sora, on social media platform X. Based on text descriptions provided by users, Sora generates videos with exceptional text-to-video capabilities. It can produce videos up to 60 seconds long, featuring multiple characters and complex scenes, igniting excitement across the global AI community. In a world where everyone knows Sam Altman, he has once again made headlines. Two days ago, Altman announced plans to raise $5-7 trillion to develop AI chips. He stated, "This is not just about building more chip factories, but about enhancing the global infrastructure and supply chain for chips, energy, and data centers."
What? Is the father of ChatGPT now aiming to compete with upstream giants like NVIDIA and Intel?
China Energy Network (WeChat public account hxny3060) noted that "energy" has been a frequently mentioned term by Altman since his global rise to fame. He believes that artificial intelligence (AI) and energy are closely interconnected, and future general AI will require massive amounts of energy to power it. "AI won't wait for humanity to find sufficient energy before it develops," Altman firmly believes. So why does the father of ChatGPT's vision for humanity's future always circle back to energy?
The two things that I think will matter most over the next decade or few decades to improving the human condition: abundant and inexpensive intelligence (I think that is AGI) and then abundant and cheap energy. —— Sam Altman
Altman is absolutely certain about one thing: the development of AI and AGI will indeed require more energy - "much more than we previously imagined." At this year's Davos Forum, Sam Altman told Bloomberg in an interview, "Future AI technology will need breakthroughs in energy because AI will consume far more electricity than people anticipate."
"My understanding of the world is that the two most crucial resources in the future will be intelligent computing and energy. Whether it's human imagination, the ability to turn ideas into reality, or the capacity to perform computations—both depend on these two," Altman said.
He also repeatedly cautioned that people have yet to recognize the energy demands of AI technology. Without significant breakthroughs in energy and resources, humanity will struggle to truly achieve the goal of "artificial general intelligence." Therefore, Altman proposed, "We need nuclear fusion, or cheaper solar energy combined with ultra-large-scale storage or other technologies, at a scale level that no one has truly planned for."
Altman can be considered a persistent "evangelist" in the field of large AI models, and he has very forward-looking emphasized the enormous energy consumption issues that AI development will face in the coming decades.
Many people are unaware that before founding OpenAI, Altman was a seasoned technology investor, having served as a partner at the renowned Silicon Valley startup incubator Y Combinator. Moreover, he has actually invested in nuclear energy startups! Altman is a very active investor.
According to overseas media statistics, since 2010, Altman has participated in over 100 investments. Besides AI, energy is an important field of his investments.
In July 2023, nuclear fission startup Oklo announced its upcoming IPO, expected to list on the New York Stock Exchange via SPAC in early 2024 with an estimated valuation of approximately $850 million.
The backer behind Oklo is Altman. As early as 2013, Oklo's founders met Sam Altman when they established the company. A year later, Altman brought Oklo into the Y Combinator incubator. Since 2015, Altman has served as the chairman of Oklo's board.
After the IPO announcement, he posted on social media, "Abundant energy is crucial for a bright future, and only a few technologies can safely, economically, and on a large scale provide energy without burning carbon."
Headquartered in California, USA, Oklo is dedicated to nuclear fission research, aiming to deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy globally through the design and deployment of next-generation nuclear fast reactor technology. It is reported that Oklo plans to deploy its first reactor in Idaho and Ohio, but this must go through the rigorous licensing process of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Apart from Oklo, Altman is also an investor in another nuclear energy startup, Helion Energy, which primarily researches fusion reactors. In 2015, Altman first invested $9.5 million in Helion Energy, and in 2021, he announced an additional investment of $375 million in the company. This is reportedly the "largest investment project" in Altman's investment career.
Altman has stated that energy solutions more favorable to climate change, especially nuclear fusion or cheaper solar energy and energy storage, are the direction to support AI development. "This has prompted us to increase our investment in fusion technology."
Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), which has close ties with OpenAI, became Helion Energy's first customer in May 2023 (pictured above is Altman's tweet on social media). Microsoft and Helion Energy signed a power purchase agreement, under which Microsoft will purchase electricity from Helion Energy starting in 2028. AI technology is advancing at an unprecedented pace, prompting nations worldwide to address potential challenges like data security and ethical concerns. Just as humanity has engaged in prolonged negotiations on issues such as climate change (global warming) and energy security, the future will inevitably involve discussions on global AI regulation.
Currently, international efforts to regulate AI remain in their early stages. As the leading nation in AI technology, the United States issued the "Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence" in October last year, though no related legislation has been enacted yet. In early December, the European Union reached a provisional agreement on the "Artificial Intelligence Act," becoming the first region globally to introduce AI regulatory legislation.
In January this year, Microsoft founder Bill Gates invited Sam Altman as a guest on his podcast to discuss topics related to AI development. Gates is an investor in Altman's ventures. When discussing global AI regulation, Altman stated that AI will trigger the fastest technological revolution in human history. "Humanity may not be ready for how quickly we'll need to adapt to this transformation."
Regarding the question posed to Bill Gates about how to effectively regulate artificial intelligence in the future, Altman responded eloquently: "We may need to regulate a few of the world's most powerful systems." Moreover, Altman boldly proposed an idea: "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which regulates nuclear weapons, could serve as a potential model. Inspections of AI models might resemble how the IAEA examines weapon systems."
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the global hub for nuclear cooperation, established in 1957. Its founding purpose was to promote safe, secure, and peaceful nuclear technology, with a relationship agreement to the United Nations. China became a member in 1984.
The IAEA's organizational structure includes the General Conference, the Board of Governors, and the Secretariat. The General Conference consists of representatives from all member states and convenes annually. Among its 35 members, 11 are designated by the IAEA General Conference, allocated by region, with the most industrially advanced nuclear countries in each region serving one-year terms. Clearly, Sam Altman has deeply contemplated global artificial intelligence regulation. The reference to the approach of global energy regulation is particularly thought-provoking.
