# Sam Altman Talks Alzheimer’s Research, AI Backlash, More

*TODAY* · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD7xkdrQoIM

## Summary

In this TODAY interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discusses his foundation's $100 million pledge to Alzheimer's research, explaining why he believes AI can accelerate diagnostics, treatments and potentially a cure. He also addresses public fears about AI, criticism of his personal power, and a recent attack on his San Francisco home. The segment closes with a note that Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI is heading to trial.

## Key points

- Sam Altman's OpenAI foundation is pledging $100 million to Alzheimer's research, one of the largest donations ever in the field.
- Altman says AI is now smart enough that top scientists believe it changes the game for science and can autonomously contribute new knowledge.
- Researchers like UCSF's Dr. Bruce Miller say AI can synthesize millions of data points from labs worldwide and find insights humans have missed.
- Altman's foundation vows to pledge $25 billion total to life sciences, curing diseases, and protecting society from AI misuse.
- Altman acknowledges some jobs will be lost to AI and society will have to evolve to be resilient.
- Altman's San Francisco home was attacked by agitators, and he responded by posting a photo of his husband and 1-year-old son.
- Altman says this much power should not be in one person's hands and that he does not feel responsible for everything everyone does with AI.
- Researchers believe AI could make a cure for Alzheimer's possible within a decade, with new treatments possibly coming sooner.
- Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI over its transition to a for-profit company is going to trial.

## Notes

### AI and Alzheimer's Research
- Sam Altman's OpenAI foundation is pledging $100 million to Alzheimer's research, described as one of the largest donations ever to the field.
- Altman argues Alzheimer's is an incredibly complex disease, and AI is very good at synthesizing huge amounts of data and bringing together insights across multiple fields.
- He says that in the last few months, AI systems have become smart enough that leading scientists say this "changes the game for science" and means science will move faster.
- Altman calls these models the first tool humans have built that is autonomously contributing to the sum total of human knowledge.

### The Researchers' Perspective
- The $100 million in grants will fund top Alzheimer's researchers, including UCSF's Dr. Bruce Miller and Savannah from the Arc Institute.
- Dr. Miller notes AI can make sense of Alzheimer's complex combination of risk factors, such as diabetes, heart disease, exercise, gender and age.
- Researchers say AI can read millions of pieces of data from all over the world and find "little nuggets" that might have missed the human eye.
- Miller says labs are siloed, with brilliant results often unseen by others, and unifying and analyzing all that data is revolutionary.

### Broader Ambitions and AI Backlash
- Altman says solving Alzheimer's is only the beginning; his foundation vows to pledge $25 billion to life sciences, curing diseases and protecting society from AI misuse.
- On fears of AI taking over, Altman says not every technological change has been good for humanity, some jobs will be done entirely by AI, and society will have to evolve to be resilient.
- A recent New Yorker story questioned whether Altman can be trusted with the reins of AI.
- Earlier this month, agitators attacked his San Francisco home; Altman posted a photo of his husband and 1-year-old son, hoping to dissuade future attacks.

### Power and Responsibility
- Altman says this much power should not be in the hands of one person, nor does he think it is, and that AI will be put in people's hands early and often.
- He does not feel responsible for everything everyone will do with AI, but feels tremendously responsible for releasing the technology in the best way possible.
- Asked if he sleeps, Altman says "not super great" because it is a very busy time.

### Timeline and Lawsuit
- Researchers say new treatments could come soon, and with AI's help a cure could be possible within a decade.
- Elon Musk's high-stakes lawsuit against OpenAI over its transition from a non-profit to a for-profit company is going to trial.

## Transcript

[00:00] RESEARCH AND A CURE. >> THE FACT THAT WE'RE SITTING HERE HAVING A SERIOUS CONVERSATION ABOUT THE SYSTEMS WE HAVE BUILT TODAY MAYBE BEING ABLE TO HELP US MAKE PROGRESS AGAINST ALZHEIMER'S IS REALLY QUITE REMARKABLE. >> Reporter: SAM ALTMAN IS USED TO THINKING BIG WITH THE CREATION OF CHATGPT, HIS COMPANY, OPEN A.I., IS CHANGING HOW WE WORK, PLAN AND THINK. NOW ALTMAN WANTS TO HARNESS THE MASSIVE BRAIN POWER OF A.I. TO SOLVE ONE OF THE BIGGEST MYSTERIES OF THE HUMAN BRAIN, ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE. WHY DO YOU THINK A.I. CAN REVOLUTIONIZE ALZHEIMER'S. >> ALZHEIMER'S IS AN INCREDIBLY COMPLEX DISEASE. A.I. IS VERY GOOD AT SYNTHESIZING HUGE AMOUNTS OF DATA, BEING AN EXPERT IN MULTIPLE DIFFERENT FIELDS AND

[00:08] BRINGING TOGETHER THE INSIGHTS ACROSS ALL OF THOSE. >> Reporter: HIS OPENA.I. FOUNDATION NOW PLEDGING ONE OF THE LARGEST DONATIONS EVER TO ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH. $100 MILLION TO STUDY HOW A.I. CAN FAST TRACK BETTER DIAGNOSTICS, TREATMENTS AND EVEN A CURE. WHY ALZHEIMER'S? DID SOMEONE YOU LOVE GET IT? >> THANKFULLY NO, BUT THIS HAS BEEN AN AREA THAT HAS BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY DIFFICULT TO MAKE PROGRESS IN. WE NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS HAVE MADE A.I. SYSTEMS THAT ARE SMART ENOUGH THAT OUR BEST SCIENTISTS ARE SAYING THIS CHANGES THE GAME FOR SCIENCE. THIS MEANS SCIENCE WILL MOVE FASTER. THESE MODELS ARE DISCOVERING NEW KNOWLEDGE ON THEIR OWN. THIS IS THE FIRST TIME A TOOL THAT WE HAVE BUILT --

[00:53] >> WHOA. >> HUMANS HAVE BUILT, IS AUTONOMOUSLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE SUM TOTAL OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE. >> Reporter: THE $100 MILLION IN GRANTS WILL FUND THE WORK OF TOP ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCHERS, LIKE UCSF DR. BRUCE MILLER AND SAVANNAH FROM THE ARC INSTITUTE. >> A.I. HAS THE UNIQUE ABILITY TO REALLY MAKE SENSE OF A DISEASE LIKE ALZHEIMER'S THAT IS SUCH A COMPLEX COMBINATION OF RISK FACTORS LIKE DIABETES OR HEART DISEASE, EXERCISE, GENDER, AGE. >> SAM ALTMAN SAID THAT A.I. WILL BE DIFFERENT TACKLING ALZHEIMER'S BECAUSE IT WILL BE ABLE TO READ THE MILLIONS OF PIECES OF DATA. >> YES. >> FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD AND BE ABLE TO FIND THE LITTLE NUGGETS IN ALL OF IT THAT MIGHT HAVE MISSED THE HUMAN EYE. >> I TOTALLY AGREE.

[01:41] I THINK WE ARE SO SILOED. A LABORATORY WILL DO A SET OF EXPERIMENTS, THE RESULTS WILL BE BRILLIANT AND NO ONE ELSE WILL SEE IT. BUT TO HAVE US UNIFIED AND TO HAVE ALL OF THAT DATA ANALYZED IN A WAY WE'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE, I THINK THAT'S REVOLUTIONARY. >> Reporter: AT MAN SAYS SOLVING ALZHEIMER'S IS ONLY THE BEGINNING. HIS FOUNDATION VOWING TO PLEDGE $25 BILLION TO LIFE SCIENCES AND CURING DISEASES, AS WELL AS TO PROTECTING SOCIETY FROM THE MISUSES OF A.I. WHAT CAN YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO GO, ASSURE ME THAT HUMANITY IS NOT GOING TO BE ANNIHILATED IN THESE MACHINES ARE GOING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD. >> NOT EVERY TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE HAS BEEN GOOD FOR HUMANITY ON THE WHOLE, FOR SURE THERE WILL BE JOBS THAT A.I.

[02:30] DOES ENTIRELY AND SOCIETY WILL HAVE TO EVOLVE TO BE RESILIENT. >> Reporter: ALTMAN HIMSELF IS LEARNING RESILIENCE. THIS RECENT STORY IN THE NEW YORKER QUESTIONING CAN HE BE TRUSTED WITH THE REINS OF A.I. >> ATTACK ON THE HOME OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST NAMES IN TECH. >> Reporter: EARLIER THIS MONTH HIS SAN FRANCISCO HOME WAS ATTACKED BY AGITATORS. IN RESPONSE, ALTMAN POSTING THIS PHOTO OF HIS HUSBAND AND THEIR 1-YEAR-OLD SON, WRITING HE HOPED IT MIGHT DISSUADE THE NEXT PERSON FROM THROWING A MOLOTOV COCKTAIL AT OUR HOUSE NO MATTER WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT ME. >> PEOPLE LOOK AT YOU, YOU'RE 40 YEARS OLD, THEY'VE READ THAT YOU'RE MAYBE NOT TRUSTWORTHY, THAT MAYBE YOU'RE TOO YOUNG. WHO ARE YOU TO HAVE THIS KIND OF

[03:14] POWER IN THE HANDS OF ONE PERSON? >> I DON'T THINK THIS MUCH POWER SHOULD BE IN THE HANDS OF ONE PERSON NOR DO I THINK IT IS. WE ARE GOING TO PUT A.I. IN THE HANDS OF PEOPLE. EARLY, OFTEN, SO THAT SOCIETY CAN TAKE THIS TECHNOLOGY AND BUILD ALL THE THINGS ON TOP OF IT. NOW, THAT IS MESSY, THINGS WILL GO WRONG. >> BUT WHAT ABOUT THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH IT? >> I DON'T FEEL RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING EVERYBODY WILL DO WITH A.I., OF COURSE. BUT I FEEL TREMENDOUSLY RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING THIS TECHNOLOGY OUT INTO THE WORLD IN THE BEST WAY THAT WE CAN WHERE EVERYBODY IS CAN FLOURISH. >> SO YOU SLEEP? >> NOT SUPER GREAT. BUT IT'S VERY BUSY TIME. >> INTERESTING CONVERSATION. MARIA, WHEN IT COMES TO THE $100

[03:59] MILLION DONATION, HOW QUICKLY DO RESEARCHERS THINK THIS COULD ACTUALLY LEAD TO ADVANCEMENTS THAT PEOPLE COULD SEE? >> WELL, SAVANNAH, THOSE WE SPOKE TO SAY NEW TREATMENTS COULD COME SOON. WHAT THAT MEANS A YEAR OR TWO, THEY DON'T REALLY SAY. BUT THEY BELIEVE THAT THE HELP -- WITH THE HELP OF A.I. A CURE COULD BE ACTUALLY POSSIBLE WITHIN A DECADE. ALTMAN SAYS HE'S VERY HOPEFUL AND THAT IS HUGE NEWS IN THE ALZHEIMER'S SPACE. GUYS, THERE'S ANOTHER MAJOR STORY LINE INVOLVING ALTMAN TODAY. A HIGH STAKES LAWSUIT BROUGHT BY ELON MUSK AGAINST OPEN A.I. IS GOING TO TRIAL TODAY. MUSK IS ONE OF THE MAIN FUNDERS OF THE COMPANY WHEN IT BEGAN AS A NON-PROFIT. BUT HE'S NOW SUING SAYING HE WAS MISLED ABOUT THE COMPANY'S PLANS

[04:45] TO TRANSITION INTO A FOR PROFIT COMPANY. SO WE'LL KEEP OUR EYES ON AL