Sam Altman says people may someday “buy intelligence on a meter” like electricity or water and critics say the vision sounds more dystopian than innovative.

Sam Altman says OpenAI wants to sell intelligence like a utility

During a recent appearance at BlackRock in Washington, D.C., OpenAI’s Sam Altman, shared his vision for the future of AI. At one point saying, “We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.”

Altman was describing a world where AI becomes a foundational infrastructure, something woven into everyday life so deeply that consumers and businesses simply “plug into” it the same way they rely on electricity, Wi-Fi or running water.

  • 4am@lemmy.zipEnglish
    9·
    1 day ago

    WiFi is not a utility. Perhaps cellular service and fiber to the home should be, though.

    WiFi is just the radio that gets you from your device to your router. It’s not the internet. Yes it’s an important distinction. Words have meanings. No, YOU’RE not being pedantic enough! 😤

    • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
      1·
      17 hours ago

      I… I know the technical difference.

      Apologies for using shorthand that you immediately interpreted correctly.

      Shorthand that… you know, was used in the article.

      Paraphrasing Sam Altman.

      Because most readers of tech news can contextually figure out what is meant by that.

    • KingKong33@lemmy.mlEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      Fucking thank you. Smh, can’t believe people don’t know the difference between WiFi and internet on a fucking tech forum.

      • zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        16 hours ago

        Well, there are municipal WiFi deployments for some smaller towns and cities that I’d call a utility, but I am not convinced that is what the previous comment is referring to.

        • KingKong33@lemmy.mlEnglish
          1·
          10 hours ago

          Wtf is a municipal WiFi department? What do they provide, internet access? Or routers?

    • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      2·
      1 day ago

      Weellll, unless you live out in the sticks on an island and all there is is long throw 2.4GHz wifi as your internet connection, at least when the weather cooperates and the rinkydink ISP has staff actually on the job. Then wifi is also a utility level service.

      Like satellite internet for some. Hmm I know another equally misanthropic smug techbro who wants to privatize an entire utility sector… Had to set up a SStarlink system for someone recently. Had to make very sure the homeowners understand why we bridged the SStarlink router.

      • sp3ctr4l@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        1·
        17 hours ago

        Or maybe the infrastructure in your building in or fairly near a city just sucks, and you use a 5G base station for internet.

        This kind of thing is… extremely common in areas that broadly have unsubstantial net infrastructure, or just poorer areas of developed cities.