Altman Distances OpenAI From 'Magic Intelligence' Goal

Sam Altman spent much of 2023 and 2024 describing OpenAI's mission in near-biblical terms. He talked about building "magic intelligence in the sky," said he wanted to be on God's side, and claimed he felt he was working on "the side of the angels." Those phrases stuck. Now Altman wants distance from them.

The shift comes as outside scrutiny of AI's spiritual framing grows. The New York Times recently detailed how Anthropic has been reaching out to religious leaders to talk through the implications of its models. Pope Leo XIV weighed in too, stating plainly that "algorithms lack the spark of humanity." OpenAI has held its own conversations with clergy, so the company isn't new to this territory.

Altman's preferred reference point has long been "Her," the Spike Jonze film about a man who falls for an AI operating system. That's a story about intimacy and emotional dependence, not divinity. Whether that distinction holds up once millions of people are talking to chatbots every day is a separate question, and one Altman now seems eager to address directly rather than leave to interpretation.