OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been making headlines ever since the launch of ChatGPT. Whether it is leading the artificial intelligence (AI) race or engaging with world leaders or the infamous clash with Elon Musk, he has found himself caught in the whirlwind of events. What was most surreal of all was when he was also briefly ousted from OpenAI in November last year before returning to the position.
Reflecting on his past experiences during a podcast interview on ‘The Logan Bartlett Show’, Altman said that if he had ‘a little bit more mental space to step back,’ there would be something crazy to note from every day.
Describing the time when he was ousted from the company he co-founded, he said that it was an ‘insane, super jammed" four and half days where his body was in an ‘adrenaline-charged state.’
Altman ordered four entrées and two milkshakes to celebrate his return as OpenAI CEO"It was just, like, weird…like not sleeping much, not really eating, energy levels, like, very high, very clear, very focused," Altman told the podcast's host, Logan Bartlett.
Altman said that within a day of his ousting, he received about 20 texts from presidents and prime ministers from countries across the world. He added he responded to the messages and thanked the leaders without being fazed.
During the podcast he also recalled how, after being reinstated as CEO, he stopped at a diner on the way to Napa the day before Thanksgiving. Realizing that he hadn't eaten in days, he ordered four ‘heavy’ entrées, as well as ‘two milkshakes just for me’, Altman said. The celebratory meal, he said, was ‘very satisfying.’
Altman also told the interviewer that he received a text from a president who said they were happy everything was resolved. "Then it hit me that, like, oh, yeah, like, all of these people had texted me and it wasn't weird," he said.
He also reflected on humans' ability to adapt to any circumstance. "My takeaway is that human adaptability to almost anything is just, like, much more remarkably strong than we realize," Altman said on the podcast. "And you can get used to anything as the new normal, good or bad, pretty fast."