OpenAI does have its critics, especially due to its policies of not open-sourcing models and more recently, seeking a ban on Chinese rival DeepSeek, but there’s little doubt that it single-handedly set off the current AI revolution.
Garry Tan, the current CEO of startup accelerator Y Combinator, recently spoke about OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s role in accelerating the current AI boom. Tan suggests that without Altman’s drive and vision, the “age of intelligence” might have remained hidden within Google’s confines for another decade. His comments offer a unique perspective on how close we were to a very different AI landscape and timeline.
“I think he’s been on his journey,” Tan says, reflecting on Altman’s experiences with OpenAI. “I think the events of the last couple of years have been really sobering.” He continues, praising Altman’s foresight: “But I think that he’s one of the most forward-thinking people I’ve ever met and really a force of nature.”
“So if you look at how Paul Graham talks about him,” Tan states, “you know, I really see it. I think that there’s something there and I’m really thankful for it, frankly.” All the way back in 2009, Paul Graham had written that Sam Altman was one of the 5 most interesting startup founders of the previous 30 years in a list that also included Steve Jobs. At that point, Altman wasn’t the success he is today, and was still running his first startup, Loopt.
Tan credits Altman — just 39 — for accelerating the AI revolution. “I think that the age of intelligence was going to happen, but it was going to be locked away inside of Google for another decade. And instead, we’re living on this timeline that is much more accelerated.”
Tan’s observation is particularly compelling given recent revelations about projects within Google and other AI labs. Google, for instance, had a chatbot similar to ChatGPT ready as early as June 2022. An engineer working on the project even claimed it was sentient, and was suspended. Despite this, Google chose to keep the technology under wraps, likely due to concerns about its potential impact and ethical implications. Similarly, Anthropic had also developed a sophisticated chatbot six months prior to ChatGPT’s release that remained as a Slack add-on for friends and family of employees, but didn’t release publicly. As such, at least two companies had powerful AI capabilities before ChatGPT was announced, but they remained hidden from public view.
However, Sam Altman and OpenAI decided to publicly release ChatGPT in November 2023. This decision, in spite of the risks, dramatically altered the trajectory of AI development. It sparked a competitive frenzy, forcing companies like Google and Microsoft to accelerate their own AI projects and release them publicly. This sudden burst of activity has led to an unprecedented acceleration in the development and deployment of AI technologies. And like Garry Tan says, had it not been for Sam Altman, the current AI landscape could’ve looked very different.