The AI Revolution Demands New Hardware: Sam Altman on Why Your Current Devices Won’t Cut It

The Vision Beyond the Horizon: Radical Abundance and Humanoid Robots

Looking ahead, the future of AI is projected to converge reasoning models with multimodal capabilities, leading to an integrated model capable of deep reasoning, real-time video generation, and comprehensive multimodal understanding. Such a model could perform complex tasks like extensive research, code generation for custom applications, or rendering interactive live video. This integrated model, possessing true complete multimodality and deep reasoning, will feel like a fundamentally new kind of computer interface.

Beyond digital interfaces, the vision extends into the physical world with the advent of humanoid robots. The strategy involves perfecting the core AI capabilities first, then connecting them to robotic systems. The long-term aim is a world where robots perform real work, potentially automating entire supply chains and accelerating global production, even enabling the re-shoring of manufacturing and complex industries.

A core belief underpinning this technological push is the creation of radical abundance. Historically, increased access to energy has correlated with improved quality of life and economic growth. AI is seen as a critical lever to vastly accelerate scientific discovery, which in turn drives sustainable economic growth and societal improvement. This perspective embodies an optimistic view that technology can profoundly enhance human capabilities and collective well-being, empowering individuals and small teams to achieve significantly more.

Altman draws an analogy between AI and the transistor, suggesting that like the transistor, AI will serve as a foundational scientific discovery that society will leverage to create incredible value and significantly ramp up the quality of life, likely at an even faster pace. This future, where the computer melts away and AI becomes a pervasive, intelligent companion, is the grand ambition driving Sam Altman’s focus on redefining the very foundation of computing.