Sam Altman hasn’t always been a fan of Burning Man. There was a time when the CEO of OpenAI wanted nothing to do with what was happening in Black Rock City.
“That’s a ridiculous, escapist, crazy party,” Altman said of his previous views of Burning Man on “Life in Seven Songs” podcast in 2024.
Then he saw what all the hype was about. Altman said on the podcast that he had been to Burning Man five or six times.
“All these lights. All this incredible art. People just cycling around,” Altman said on the podcast. “Everyone was so happy, so engaged and so present that I thought, ‘Okay, I was wrong to be so negative about Burning Man.’”
He said the experience showed him what the world could look like if artificial general intelligence – AI capable of matching or surpassing human intelligence – is achieved.
“This is a possible part of what the post-AGI world could look like,” Altman said on the podcast. “Where people are just focused on doing things for each other, taking care of each other and making incredible gifts to give each other.”
