Altman Says Americans Are Skeptical of Tech Power

OpenAI chief Sam Altman said U.S. skepticism toward people in power and the tech industry may be healthy in some ways.

Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

Altman Says Americans Are Skeptical of Tech Power

Live Poll

Do you trust big tech companies to use their power responsibly?

Sam Altman, who co-founded OpenAI, said Americans are skeptical of people in power and of the enormous power of the tech industry. He made the remarks in an interview on Raj Shamani's podcast Figuring Out.

Why it matters

Altman argued that concentrating AI power in one person, company, or country is very unstable, and said he believes in pluralism. The comments come as OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Anthropic invest billions of dollars in AI technology.

Altman's remarks were made in a podcast interview, not a formal filing or survey, so they reflect his personal views. The extraction does not provide polling or survey data measuring American public skepticism toward tech power.

The players

Sam Altman

Altman is the co-founder of OpenAI and does not own equity in the company, and he was briefly removed as its chief executive in 2023.

OpenAI

OpenAI is the artificial intelligence research company that developed ChatGPT and is among the firms investing billions in AI technology.

The details

Asked by podcast host Raj Shamani about the biggest risks of developing superintelligent AI, Altman said U.S. skepticism of tech power may be a good thing in some ways. He stated that only one company holding AI power is not good.

- November 2023: Altman was briefly removed as OpenAI chief executive.
- May 2026: A jury rejected Elon Musk's claims against OpenAI.
- November 4, 2026: Altman's podcast comments were reported.

Big Picture

Altman's comments follow the November 2023 board removal that briefly ousted him as OpenAI chief executive. They frame concentration of AI power as a governance concern in the wake of that episode.

Concentration of AI power affects which companies shape the tools people use daily, from search to writing assistants. Altman's call for pluralism suggests users may see multiple competing AI providers rather than a single dominant one.

The takeaway

Concentrated AI power is unstable, according to Altman, which makes competition and pluralism in the industry worth watching. Readers can track how AI companies and regulators respond to growing public skepticism of tech power.