OpenAI chief Sam Altman told a Senate Commerce panel that the artificial-intelligence boom “will be at least as big as the internet, maybe bigger,” a shift so profound that even its architects “can’t quite wrap our heads around” where it leads.
What Happened: Pressed by Sen. John Fetterman about the so-called singularity — the moment machines outstrip human intelligence — Altman replied, “I am incredibly excited about the rate of progress, but I also am cautious … I feel small next to it,” calling AI “among the biggest, maybe the biggest technological revolutions humanity will have ever produced.”
He stressed that society will adapt, “figure how to use these tools to do things we could never do before,” yet must approach the new era “with humility and some caution.”
For Altman, the path remains thrilling but opaque: “These are going to be tools capable of things we can’t quite wrap our heads around … some people call that singularity … it feels like a new era of human history.”
Why It Matters: The remarks came during a hearing on U.S. competitiveness in AI that also featured executives from Microsoft, AMD and CoreWeave, according to Reuters, urging lighter regulation and heavy infrastructure spending to keep pace with China. According to a separate report by The Washington Post, lawmakers of both parties echoed those fears while probing skyrocketing power demands from data centers and the risk of AI-generated deepfakes.
Altman’s uncertainty highlights a broader debate over super-intelligence once championed by futurists like Ray Kurzweil and, more recently, flagged by ex-Google chief Eric Schmidt, who predicted AI could put a “smartest human in every pocket” by 2031.
Former OpenAI employees warned last year that the company was sidelining safety, a worry that soon echoed in Washington. Five senators wrote to Altman at the time demanding details on how the firm plans to keep its powerful AI models in check. The lawmakers flagged alleged retaliation against internal whistleblowers and pressed Altman to prove safety remains a priority as OpenAI partners with the U.S. government.
Their letter joined a growing chorus of experts, including co-founder Elon Musk, who say unchecked AI could carry grave risks for humanity.
Sam Altman | Photo courtesy: jamesonwu1972 / Shutterstock.com
