When examining the role of AI in our world, it's helpful to consider one straightforward metric: how are people using it daily? Just before Christmas Eve, Bari Weiss at the Free Press interviewed Sam Altman, creator of ChatGPT and leader of OpenAI, about AI's current impact. She inquired about measuring its influence, and Altman pointed to the swift adoption of these technologies among a broad audience. “People are using it a lot, ” he noted. “I’ve never seen technology adopted so quickly. ” Artificial Intelligence and Search When discussing his personal use of the technology, Altman agreed with Weiss's observation that many, including himself, are using ChatGPT for search. He mentions how he switched his default search to ChatGPT to access real-time information from the web, a faster option than traditional hyperlink browsing. Altman still refers to this as ‘search, ’ although younger people might say they ‘chatted up’ the information. Weiss asked about his ‘September manifesto’ on future changes. Altman invites us to imagine the landscape 18 months from now, in the summer of 2026, and wonders how superintelligence might emerge. “You have to consider the pace of scientific progress, ” he remarked, describing potential advances in the coming years.

Despite rapid AI developments, Altman stressed the resilience of human nature. “It won’t change the deep fundamental human drives, ” he assured Weiss, “but the world as it exists will undergo significant change. ” Reflecting on the manifesto, which I covered previously, it underscores the value of humanity. The Role of People “People naturally want to create and be useful to each other, ” he stated, “and AI will enhance our abilities like never before. Society will enter an expanding world, refocusing on positive-sum games. ” This argument is significant when considering job displacement. Altman wrote: “Jobs we perform today would seem trivial to people centuries ago, yet no one longs to be a lamplighter. Such a person today would see unimaginable prosperity. Similarly, in a hundred years, our prosperity would seem just as unimaginable. ” I hope Altman’s vision comes true, inspiring us to innovate useful roles for humans in an AI-driven age. This is worth considering as the year ends.