OpenAI’s Sam Altman ‘Feeling Good’ About His 2021 AI Prediction

• Sam Altman says he is “feeling good” about his prediction from two years ago about AI’s transformational impact.
• AI and the development of renewable power will catalyze a slide in tech and energy costs, he said in 2021.
• Altman is back at the helm of ChatGPT owner OpenAI, after a shock ouster last month that lasted only five days.

Sam Altman, the high-profile CEO of ChatGPT owner OpenAI, is feeling pretty good.

Not just because he managed to reverse his shock ouster last month in just five days — but also as his 2021 prediction about the transformational impact of artificial intelligence now looks much more persuasive.

“Feeling good about this prediction! What a difference 27 months makes…,” Altman said in a post on X Sunday, referring to a projection he made on the same social-media platform more than two years ago.

“The costs of intelligence and energy are going to be on a path towards near-zero. We certainly won’t get all the way there this decade, but by 2030, it will become clear that the AI revolution and renewable+nuclear energy are going to get us there,” he had said in a post on X, then known as Twitter, in September 2021.

The sensational debut a year ago of ChatGPT, OpenAI’s large language model, has catapulted AI to the forefront of technological development, with potential applications across industries. Businesses are looking at the prospect of using employing AI tools to automate many of their tasks and functions, which could lead to cost reductions that may be passed on consumers.

Altman, who rose to fame this year following ChatGPT’s success, which drew a $10 billion investment from Microsoft, dominated the headlines for a different reason last month. On November 17, he was ousted as OpenAI’s CEO by the company’s board, in a poorly explained move that shocked investors and employees alike.

However, he was brought back just five days later following hefty pushback from key investors such as Microsoft and a majority of OpenAI’s employees.

OpenAI is currently in talks with investors to secure fresh funding that could value the company at $100 billion or more, Bloomberg reported, citing people it didn’t identify.