OpenAI Began With the Logic That Someone Other Than Google Should Build AI First by Sam Altman

# OpenAI Began With the Logic That Someone Other Than Google Should Build AI First by Sam Altman > “[I've] been thinking a lot about whether it's possible to stop humanity from developing AI. I think the answer is almost definitely not. If it's going to happen anyway, it seems like it would be good for someone other than Google to do it first.” > **— Sam Altman**, *2015 email quoted on The Ezra Klein Show* ## Sources and Context - **Timecoded episode recording:** [*The Ezra Klein Show* at 17:50](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjZ90V_JREk&t=1070s) — recording and precise locator for the source object preserved in this Reminder. - **Reconciled source dossier:** [[research/Why Are We Sprinting Off the AI Cliff - Ezra Klein on Recursive Self-Improvement|Why Are We Sprinting Off the AI Cliff?]] — preserves broadcast order, speaker attribution, editorial conventions and the surrounding argument. - **Editorial treatment:** Square brackets restore source-supported antecedents needed for independent reading; the remaining wording follows the reconciled source object. - **Context:** Altman's 2015 email captures the competitive premise that AI development was unlikely to stop and therefore should be led by someone other than Google. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Collection:** [[collections/Machine Succession|Machine Succession]] - **Article:** [[articles/Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower from AI Factory to Citizen|Vertically Integrating an AI Superpower]] - **Article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] - **Article:** [[articles/AI-Tech Doomerism and Anti-Science Panic|AI-Tech Doomerism and Anti-Science Panic]] - **Wiki map:** [[wiki/Sam Altman|Sam Altman]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/Sam Altman|Sam Altman]] - [[wiki/OpenAI|OpenAI]] - [[wiki/Google|Google]] - [[wiki/DeepMind|DeepMind]] - [[wiki/AI Race Dynamics|AI Race Dynamics]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “[I've] been thinking a lot about whether it's possible to stop humanity from developing AI. I think the answer is almost definitely not. If it's going to happen anyway, it seems like it would be good for someone other than Google to do it first.” — Sam Altman, 2015 email quoted on The Ezra Klein Show https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-sam-altman-openai-someone-other-google-build-ai-first ```