Few individuals are more focused on the development of artificial intelligence and its inevitable impact on the world than Sam Altman, the Chief Executive Officer of ChatGPT maker OpenAI.
Altman, who is a well-known figure in the Silicon Valley startup scene, cofounded OpenAI with Elon Musk in 2015. At the time, their goal was to simply create a non-profit artificial intelligence company that would ensure AI wouldn't wipe out humans. From the beginning, the project generated a lot of buzz in the tech world, with billions of dollars being pledged by such prominent names as Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel. At the time, Altman was also serving as President of the Y Combinator, the acclaimed startup accelerator in Silicon Valley. But in 2019, after five years with YC, he stepped down to focus on OpenAI, guiding its transition from a nonprofit into a "capped profit" corporation.