OpenAI boss Sam Altman has admitted he’s got a reinforced basement at home as fears of global conflict continue to loom large.
The tech billionaire, best known for his role in creating ChatGPT, says the world feels increasingly unstable – and he’s not ruling out the need for a proper bunker in case things take a turn for the worst.
Speaking on comedian Theo Von’s podcast, Altman explained that while he doesn’t have what he’d strictly call a bunker, his home is equipped with some heavy-duty underground defences.
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From around the 85-minute, 40-second mark of the video below, Altman said, in response to Theo Von asking has a bunker: “I have, like, underground concrete, heavy reinforcement basements, but I don’t have something I would call a bunker,” he said.
Von was quick to reply: “That’s a bunker, dude.” To which Altman asked: “What is the difference between a basement and a bunker?” Von shot back: “A place you can hide when it all goes off or whatever.”
Altman continued: “I have been thinking, actually, that I should really do a good version of one of those, but I don’t have, like, what I would call a bunker — but it has been on my mind. Not because of AI but just because, like, people are dropping bombs in the world again.”
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The revelation puts Altman among a growing list of tech leaders quietly preparing for worst-case scenarios. Mark Zuckerberg reportedly has a “little shelter” or “basement” in Hawaii, though he too has played down the idea of a full-blown bunker.
The idea of billionaires gearing up for potential disaster has sparked plenty of discussion in recent years, with many investing in remote compounds, survival kits, and fortified properties in case of a global crisis.
Altman’s comments also come against a backdrop of rising geopolitical tensions. NATO has scrambled warplanes, and conflicts continue to escalate across the globe.
While his fears aren’t directly linked to AI, it’s notable that he’s one of the leading figures shaping the future of artificial intelligence, an industry that itself has raised serious safety and security concerns.
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It’s not just Altman who’s been linked to doomsday planning at OpenAI. A new book, Empire of AI by journalist Karen Hao, claims that OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever once floated the idea of building a bunker specifically for company researchers.
According to the book, during a 2023 meeting, Sutskever said: “Once we all get into the bunker…” only for a puzzled scientist to ask: “I’m sorry, the bunker?” Sutskever reportedly replied: “We’re definitely going to build a bunker before we release AGI.”
AGI, or artificial general intelligence, refers to AI that’s smarter than humans and capable of outthinking us entirely. It’s a concept that has sparked everything from sci-fi movies to genuine debates about humanity’s future.
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But for Altman, the more immediate threat seems to be the same one everyone else is worried about. That’s a world where bombs are dropping and no one feels completely safe anymore.