What’s Next for (Open)AI? A Fireside Chat with Sam Altman
Image credits: Tony Dube | Unsplash
While in Abu Dhabi at the G42 Supercharged summit, I caught a (virtual) fireside chat with Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI. It was a rare glimpse into the architecture of the future from the mind of one of the people building it.
AI as National Infrastructure
Altman made the case that AI isn’t just another tech trend. It’s becoming a foundational layer for how countries operate, compete, and care for their people. The launch of Stargate UAE signals something big: a move toward AI as national infrastructure. Rather than thinking about AI as helping with one task at a time, this vision is about weaving AI into everything from healthcare to transportation to education and more. With massive regional reach, Stargate UAE could become a new kind of engine for progress across half the world, particularly the global South.
A fireside chat with Sam Altman at the G42 Supercharged Summit
Yes, Altman talked about speed and scale. He also focused on alignment: how to ensure that superintelligent systems pursue what we humans truly value over the long haul. As he has put it, today’s most powerful algorithms (see: social media) are masters of short-term manipulation. They get us to scroll, to click, to react. But long-term wisdom? That’s harder. That’s the real test of governance, ethics, and design.
A Vision of Paradox and Profound Impact
Altman’s vision is full of paradox: gentle but revolutionary, personal but planetary. (To go deeper into his vision, check out his June 2025 blog post entitled The Gentle Singularity.) On one hand, for many people around the world, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is already acting as a coach, a therapist, a strategist—a thought partner helping millions of people define what they want and how to get there. (I definitely use ChatGPT and other LLMs for this!) On the other hand, the systems we’re building are rapidly gaining the ability to code, discover, and even operate in the physical world. If progress continues at this pace (or accelerates!), we may soon be living alongside machines that not only think, but build, invent, and manufacture at global scale.
Image credits: Spencer Davis | Unsplash
One of the most provocative moments in Altman’s fireside chat was a glancing mention of a project with the luxury car manufacturer McLaren. He didn’t elaborate, but the implication was clear: AI is moving from the lab to the real world, where speed, precision, and ambition matter. The CEO of OpenAI clearly believes that AI’s biggest impact is going to be in scientific discovery, research, development, and application.
Much More Than a Tech Transition: A Civilization-Scale Inflection Point
Image credits: Cristofer Maximilian | Unsplash
He also believes we’re entering an era where the two great constraints on human progress—intelligence and energy—are on the verge of converging. If that’s true, then the boundaries of what’s possible will shift radically. Yes, people will still write poetry, raise children, and marvel at the natural world. But the systems that support our lives may become almost unrecognizably powerful—and largely invisible.
Altman points out that this is more than a tech transition. It’s a civilization-scale inflection point. And the big questions—Who sets the rules? What do we want to become?—are no longer philosophical. They’re policy decisions. They’re engineering decisions. They’re happening now.
More Photos from the G42 Supercharged Summit
About Tiffany
Dr. Tiffany Vora speaks, writes, and advises on how to harness technology to build the best possible future(s). She is an expert in biotech, health, & innovation.
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