OpenAI CEO Sam Altman took center stage in Silicon Valley’s recent publicity push Monday night by making an appearance on The Tonight Show. In a friendly interview with host Jimmy Fallon, Altman shared how ChatGPT has helped ease his worries as a new parent. This choice was notably clever, given Altman’s typically private personal life. However, as a savvy businessman, he knows the value of engaging television.
During the interview, he discussed his concerns about his son, who wasn’t crawling at six months and seemed to be developing slower than his peers (spoiler alert: he’s not). “I cannot imagine having gone through figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT,” Altman told Fallon. “People did it for a long time, no problem. So clearly it was possible, but I have relied on it so much.”
As anxieties about the future of AI continue to grow, his underlying message was clear: technology can help parents better understand their children, and we should embrace it. The timing of this message was intentional.
Recently, the tech industry has ramped up its public relations efforts amid new age-verification laws in the U.S. and rising public concerns over AI. Altman touched on this without diving into specifics, stating, “One of the things that I’m worried about is just the rate of change that’s happening in the world right now. This is a three-year-old technology. No other technology has ever been adopted by the world this fast. Making sure that we introduce this to the world in a responsible way, where people have time to adapt, to give input, to figure out how to do this—you could imagine us getting that wrong.”
These concerns have sparked a concentrated campaign out of Silicon Valley to better control the narrative surrounding AI. This includes everything from TV ads to pop-ups aimed at enhancing brand awareness and communicating the benefits of AI and social media, emphasizing that their advantages far exceed the downsides. If Silicon Valley is entering its “hard tech era,” it’s certainly making a stronger case.
Ads promoting AI are now ubiquitous across streaming platforms, cable, and social media. TikTok is being hailed for providing dad advice, while ChatGPT can help users learn proper exercise techniques, cook memorable meals, or plan an unforgettable road trip. Google encourages users to “ask more of your phone” by leveraging its AI features. Anthropic, in a recent ad, proclaimed “there’s never been a better time” for AI, and it’s also hosting pop-ups and selling merchandise. Meanwhile, Meta aims to be your personal AI for just about everything.
