Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI

To what extent is it possible to develop an ethical AI model? Are there ethical issues inherent in the technology? How is this similar to ethical concerns around the development of other technologies, like nuclear energy or the internet?

Analyze the importance of rhetoric in the marketing and development of AI technologies. What unstated ideologies or cultural beliefs do OpenAI and other AI companies draw on in promoting their products?

Karen Hao toggles her focus between OpenAI and the tech industry as a whole. To what extent is OpenAI unique among Silicon Valley companies? To what extent does it engage in unethical practices common to the field?

Hao details the drive to create economies of scale, hold monopoly power, and follow race to the bottom dynamics around labor rights and environmental protections within Silicon Valley AI firms. What regulations or changes could meaningfully change these tendencies within the AI sector? Are there any that Hao does not explore in Empire of AI?

How does Sam Altman’s leadership of OpenAI set the tone for the company as a whole? How does it set the tone for AI development in Silicon Valley as a whole?

Analyze the role of secular religious beliefs about apocalypse and utopia in the Silicon Valley culture and economy, particularly as it relates to figures like Elon Musk, Dario Amodei, and Sam Bankman-Fried. To what extent do these patterns of belief occur in the development of any radically new technology?

How do companies like OpenAI use their power and influence to shape the regulation of their field? What can be done to counter or “redistribute” this power and influence?

Compare and contrast OpenAI cofounders Ilya Sutskever and Greg Brockman. How are their leadership styles and belief systems similar? How are they different? What impact have they had on OpenAI’s products and corporate culture?