‘Smarter than AI? Not a chance,’ says OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about his future child

Speaking on the "Re:Thinking" podcast with Adam Grant, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared his thoughts on AI’s growing influence. "My kid is never gonna grow up being smarter than AI," Altman stated, noting that future generations will consider AI’s intelligence a natural aspect of life. "And that'll be natural. And of course it's smarter than us. Of course, it can do things we can't, but also who really cares?" he added.

Changing Nature of Human Skills

Altman believes AI will revolutionise the economy and workforce, shifting the focus from raw intelligence to other human skills. "The kind of dumb version of this would be figuring out what questions to ask will be more important than figuring out the answer," he explained. He acknowledged concerns over job displacement but expressed confidence in humanity’s ability to adapt and find better opportunities. "Eventually, I think the whole economy transforms," he said. "We always find new jobs, even though every time we stare at a new technology, we assume they’re all going to go away."

AI’s Evolution in Performance

Altman drew comparisons to AI’s development in chess, recalling how early AI models lost to humans before eventually surpassing them. However, he emphasised that human-AI collaboration has proven to be the most effective approach. "Ultimately, AI and humans working together in chess beat an AI team," he observed, reinforcing the idea that AI can complement human efforts rather than replace them.

AI Agent Capabilities

Altman discussed the recent advancements in AI autonomy, particularly OpenAI’s launch of "Tasks," a ChatGPT feature that helps users with reminders and news summaries. Bloomberg reported that OpenAI plans to introduce an enhanced AI agent called "Operator," designed to handle tasks such as coding and travel bookings.

The Future of AI Agents

On the podcast, Altman speculated about the evolving capabilities of AI agents. "Not like we can go give them a task where they program for three hours, but where we can have them go off and do something very complicated that would normally require like a whole organisation over many years," he said. He suggested that new models will be required to accommodate these advancements.

Industry Insights on AI

At CES 2025, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described agentic AI as the "new digital workforce" and projected it would create a multitrillion-dollar industry. Huang’s remarks align with Altman’s vision of AI transforming industries and work processes.

Altman remains optimistic about AI’s future, believing that while it will challenge traditional job roles, it will also present new opportunities for collaboration and progress. He acknowledges that adapting to AI’s increasing role may seem unusual for the current generation, but future generations will seamlessly integrate it into their lives.