Sam Altman, the new CEO of OpenAI, is something of a poster child for Silicon Valley. He personifies the urgent crossroads of technology and ethics in artificial intelligence (AI). So, Altman is famous for his great deal-making and visionary deal-making. Yet he deftly worked the ever-shifting political landscape of the Trump administration, seeking out places to work with Trump’s aligned interests on getting new data centers constructed. His incredible story is one of resilience and ambition. He has worked to make real change not only in the tech industry but in society to tackle big picture issues.
And despite Altman’s prominence, much of his narrative has not been fairly captured in prior written accounts. Keach Hagey, author of a new biography on Altman, notes that he was “written out of basically every other thing that had ever been written about him, except for the book.” This biography is designed to do just that, to provide a broad overview of Altman’s life and career.
Altman went down a technology path at the age of 19. Case jumped in head first, bootstrapping the launch of his first startup, and quickly establishing alliances with telecom operators. These formative experiences introduced Josh to the tech landscape and readied him for the work that lay before him. As a young gay man living in the Midwest, Altman had to fight on multiple fronts. These experiences molded him into the fearless man who entertains, inspires, and galvanizes audiences as a public speaker.
Across his lengthy career, Altman has pushed for a government role in funding and steering AI research. He believes that “the broad project of AI is really a moral project,” emphasizing the ethical implications tied to the development of artificial intelligence. This view makes him a natural leader as we travel the moral deserts that often accompany technical progress.
Hagey highlights that while Altman has traditionally held liberal political views, he has maintained friendships with influential figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel. Altman’s deftness in winning the support of different stakeholders in this bipartisan issue reveals extraordinary flexibility and tactical genius. Hagey observes that “this is one area where, in some ways, I feel like Sam Altman has been born for this moment, because he is a deal maker and Trump is a deal maker.”
The political dynamics behind Altman’s relationship with the Trump administration are an interesting and important story in and of themselves. In just the right way, he’s been able to avoid this partisan swamp by finding common ground when it comes to tech and transportation innovation. As Hagey explains, “where he was able to make the most impact…he found an area of overlap,” which positioned him to be collaborative rather than combative.
While the biography shows that Altman transcended such management challenges, he’s hardly blameless in this regard. Hagey discusses how “there are management issues that are detailed in the book, where he is not great at dealing with conflict,” often opting to tell people what they want to hear instead of addressing issues directly. This defining trait raises profound questions of his leadership style, and what it means for the future of OpenAI.
Beyond his work with AI and technology, Altman has made a mark on other fields, like housing finance. His actions set the course for how we finance affordable housing today. This multifaceted approach is a testament to his conviction about the relevance of ethics everywhere.
Altman’s story is still unfolding, but it was a privilege to discover one of its most exciting chapters in Hagey’s biography. His personal experiences and professional choices have indelibly influenced his perspective. Hagey recalls initial challenges in writing the biography, stating, “In the beginning, I figured I was going to write this book without his help — what we call, in the business, a write-around profile.” Contrary to adoption enthusiasm, Altman’s response when he found out about Half the Sky was not warm. “Well, he was definitely not happy when he was informed about the book’s existence,” Hagey notes.
While it met with pushback in the beginning, the biography is instrumental in painting a fuller picture of Altman’s life and contributions. His struggles with anxiety led him to seek out practices such as meditation. These practices helped lay the foundation for his growth today. These facets are what allow us a glimpse into the complexity of a man at the forefront of technological creation. Simultaneously, he faces major ethical dilemmas.
