Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO

Contemporary influential 97 sayings

Sayings by Sam Altman

The biggest risk is doing nothing.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

Don't be a perfectionist, be an incrementalist.

2016 — Tweet
Humorous Unverifiable

The most important thing is to have a good co-founder.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

The future is going to be about abundance, not scarcity.

2021 — Blog Post: 'Moore's Law for Everything'
Humorous Unverifiable

If you want to change the world, start a company.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

The only way to win is to not play the game everyone else is playing.

2017 — Tweet
Humorous Unverifiable

Don't be afraid to pivot.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

The future is going to be about speed.

2015 — Interview with TechCrunch
Humorous Unverifiable

The biggest advantage is to be an outsider.

2018 — Tweet
Humorous Unverifiable

The most important thing is to have a strong culture.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

Don't be afraid to be contrarian.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

The most important thing is to build something that solves a real problem.

2014 — Y Combinator Startup School
Humorous Unverifiable

AI will probably most likely lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there'll be great companies.

2016 — Interview with The New Yorker
Controversial Unverifiable

I think it's important that we don't let the government regulate AI too much.

2023 — Podcast interview
Controversial Unverifiable

The worst case for AI is so bad that I don’t want to talk about it publicly.

2022 — Private conversation leaked online
Controversial Unverifiable

Most people don’t deserve universal basic income.

2020 — Debate on economic policy
Controversial Unverifiable

The future belongs to those who take it.

2017 — Blog post
Controversial Unverifiable