Don’t look now, but one of the world’s leaders in AI just won many of us over with old-fashioned human connection

During his testimony, Sam Altman did something I’ve yet to see any AI do. He connected with people on a human level.

Until his congressional testimony, I’d never seen Sam Altman speak before. I knew he was the CEO of OpenAI, the company responsible for ChatGPT and leading the charge in many of the AI-based tools emerging today. I’d read things about him but those were generally focused on the products his company makes and not really about him, as a person.

Watching him speak, I learned about him as a person. And it wasn’t what I expected.

Maybe I’m too jaded from past Tech CEO’s congressional testimonies to have even given Sam or the hearing a chance. Maybe I’d gotten used to everything from basic question dodging to story spinning to flat-out lying during these testimonies. Maybe I’d grown frustrated with the unfamiliarity among lawmakers with the technologies in question to feel like the two parties could have a useful dialogue. In fairness to those lawmakers, even the creators of AI aren’t sure where this will go. I sure don’t.

Maybe past hearings have told me that, at best you might get two people talking past each other. At worst, you get one person furiously firing uninformed questions towards someone who can’t wait to show the other just how uninformed they are.

But this wasn't those things.

First, congress took a different approach.

The opening statement was actually created by ChatGPT. Senator Blumenthal asked ChatGPT to prepare a statement that reflected what he might say, taking into account his past stances on various issues. He then spoke about how it was pretty accurate but also cautioned that it could easily have gone another direction. It wasn’t a promotion or a criticism. It came off as an action that showed commitment to understanding.

Then, Sam Altman took a different approach.

He read the room. And not just the physical room in which he was giving his testimony. He read the collective room we all seem to be sitting in across society right now. A room filled with excitement, curiosity, concern, and fear.

He met the lawmakers where they were. He listened to their questions. He acknowledged their concerns, even stated that he shared many of them himself.

“We understand that people are anxious about how it can change the way we live. We are, too,” Altman said. “If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.”

Of course, those could be just words. But it was the way he said them. I encourage you to watch even a few clips of the testimony to see if you see what I saw.

Sam somehow disarmed the lawmakers in a respectful and welcoming manner. It became… a discussion? A collaboration?

It looked so different on both sides than past Tech CEO testimonies. Almost a team effort.

It’s impossible to know if this is really the start of a healthy relationship between technology makers and lawmakers, but it sure looked like it could be.

I know, I know. In the past, social media companies have publicly supported government regulation and then, not so secretly, fought to disrupt it. Believe me, the skeptic in me wants to discount the whole testimony and get back to worrying about when AI brings society crashing down.

Not today, skepticism!

For many months now, I’ve felt excited, curious, concerned and fearful of the rise of AI.

Then, one of the top AI leaders in the world was able to acknowledge people’s feelings and connect on a human level. Sam Altman’s testimony felt different.

Maybe, just maybe, Sam is a brilliant technologist with tremendous empathy. That could work.

Imagine what could happen if technology makers and lawmakers both seek to understand the technology AND how people experience it AND have positive intent.

As I struggled to write the closing paragraph of this article, I thought I’d take a page out of Senator Blumenthal’s playbook and I asked ChatGPT to wrap it up for me. Below is what came back. Not bad!

From ChatGPT: In a world where past congressional testimonies between technology leaders and lawmakers have often resulted in frustration and misunderstanding, the recent testimony of Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, brought a glimmer of hope. Altman’s ability to connect with people on a human level and acknowledge their concerns was a refreshing departure from the norm.

It remains to be seen whether this is just a fleeting moment or the start of a transformative alliance, but Altman’s testimony offered a glimpse into a future where the bridge between technology and society can be strengthened through genuine connection and mutual understanding.