Tech entrepreneur Sam Altman, who co-founded OpenAI, has faced a number of ups and downs during his career. He led one of the biggest technological revolutions in recent years, yet, faced backlash over controversial comments, corporate power shifts and skyrocketing cost of computer hardware.
Now, he has opened up about the “bad guy” tag. Appearing on Raj Shamani’s podcast Figuring Out, Altman said Americans are sceptical of people in positions of power, particularly those running powerful technology companies.
Sam Altman’s comments reveal the difficult balance facing the AI industry. Companies are racing to build increasingly powerful technology while simultaneously having to convince governments and the public that its development can be trusted.
Shamani pointed out that Altman had helped build a technology that has transformed how people work and access information, yet had somehow been villanised. He also highlighted the unusual fact that Altman does not own equity in OpenAI, the company he leads. The exchange comes amid an intensifying debate over the influence of a handful of technology companies that are developing increasingly powerful AI systems. OpenAI, Google, Microsoft and Anthropic are among the companies investing billions of dollars in the technology, which could reshape industries, workplaces and access to information. Altman himself has been at the centre of questions about OpenAI’s leadership and governance. More recently, a high-profile legal battle with Elon Musk has brought renewed attention to OpenAI’s original non-profit mission and its corporate structure. His comments reveal the difficult balance facing the AI industry. Companies such as OpenAI are racing to build increasingly powerful technology while simultaneously having to convince governments and the public that its development can be trusted.
His brief removal as chief executive in November 2023 exposed divisions within the company over its management and direction. A jury rejected Musk’s claims in May 2026, although the proceedings brought further scrutiny of Altman’s leadership.
