Print the page
Increase font size
Sam Altman is Crazy

Sam Altman is Crazy

Chris Campbell

Posted September 25, 2024

Chris Campbell

It’s 1958.

The world’s top physicists are gathering at the Solvay Conference in Brussels.

pub

Wolfgang Pauli is presenting a radical particle theory.

To most, it sounds outlandish.

Niels Bohr stands up and says: "We all agree your theory is crazy. The question is whether it's crazy enough to be right."

Turns out, it was indeed crazy enough. Soon after, it revolutionized our understanding of quantum mechanics.

Fast-forward to 2016.

Sam Altman, a rising star in tech circles, was presenting his predictions on AI.

Once again, many saw his predictions as crazy.

For example…

At a Y Combinator event, Altman predicted, "In the next five years, computer programs that can think will read legal documents and give medical advice."

Remember, this was before the era of GPT and large language models. Now? Doesn’t seem so crazy.

He also predicted that within 10 years, we'd have AI assistants that could carry out complex tasks.

With the rise of AI agents, the scoffs have been replaced with an uncomfortable shifting in seats.

Finally, in a 2016 blog post titled "Moore's Law for Everything," Altman envisioned a world where the cost of goods and services would halve every two years due to AI advancements.

(Yeah… still sounds crazy.)

Here's why I bring this up...

Altman has once again stirred the pot with his latest blog post, "The Intelligence Age."

In it, he suggests we're on the cusp of a new era - a transformation, he says, as significant as the leap from the Stone Age to the Agricultural Age.

But, the big difference is this “Intelligence Revolution” - as he calls it - will be squeezed within a time frame that, for most, is inconceivable.

His reasoning? Simple: deep learning works. We know this now. It's gotten predictably better with scale, and we've thrown increasingly more resources at it.

The result? AI systems that can now tackle problems we once thought were the exclusive domain of human intelligence.

But here's where it gets really mind-bending. Altman suggests this shift could begin within the span of "a few thousand days."

Imagine a world - in the not too distant future - where everyone has a personal AI team, a squad of virtual experts ready to tackle any problem.

Need to learn quantum physics? Your AI tutor's got you covered. Want to design a revolutionary clean energy system? Your AI research team is already on it.

To be sure, Altman isn't wearing rose-tinted glasses.

He acknowledges this transition won't be all glitter and rainbows. The labor market, for one, is in for a significant shake-up.

But he remains optimistic…

Like us, he sees AI as amplifying, not replacing, our drive to innovate and contribute.

As you may know, that’s been our main beat here and in our flagship AI letter Paradigm Mastermind Group.

And though Altman sounds crazy… he might be crazy enough to be right.

How to Become a Pawn Star

Posted September 12, 2025

By James Altucher

I talked to Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars. Here’s why pawn stores are the best businesses ever.

3 Boring Reasons Tokenization Goes to TRILLIONS

Posted September 11, 2025

By Chris Campbell

Don’t think of tokenization as some abstract blockchain thing. Think of it as moving from three buttons to an entire spaceship dashboard.

Nasdaq Tells SEC: “Tokenize Stocks Now!”

Posted September 10, 2025

By Chris Campbell

Six years ago, Nasdaq thought tokenization would start at the edges. Instead, it’s rapidly remaking the core.

Brussels to Beijing: Adapt or Be Dollarized

Posted September 09, 2025

By Chris Campbell

The world’s money is being dragged, kicking and screaming, onto crypto rails. And nobody (NOBODY) is ready for what comes next.

Live Long and Ask Siri

Posted September 08, 2025

By Chris Campbell

When Apple spends big, they buy brand power, irreplaceable IP, or deep infrastructure. This tiny stock has them all. And here’s the most beautiful part…

AI Apocalypse Cancelled (For Now)

Posted September 05, 2025

By Chris Campbell

Turns out, replacing humans outright is harder than just upgrading them.