Sam Altman: We have crossed the "singularity".

“Bots have not yet hit the streets, and most of us are not talking to AI all day. People still die from diseases, we cannot easily access space yet, and there are still many things in the universe that we cannot understand.”

However, we have recently built systems that are smarter than humans in many ways, and these systems can significantly amplify the output of users. The hardest part is behind us; the scientific breakthroughs that led us to systems like GPT-4 and o3 were not easy, but they will take us further.

“In a certain important sense, ChatGPT is already more powerful than any human that has ever existed. Hundreds of millions of people rely on it daily to accomplish increasingly important tasks; a small additional capability can bring about a huge positive impact; while a tiny deviation, if amplified by hundreds of millions, can also lead to serious negative consequences.”

On June 11, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in an article published on his personal website.

According to him, humanity may have entered the early stages of the “singularity” — the critical point where artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence. Altman stated that humanity has crossed a crucial turning point, an “event horizon,” marking the beginning of a new era of digital superintelligence.

He wrote in the text: “We have crossed this event horizon, and the takeoff has begun.” “Humanity is getting closer to creating digital superintelligence, and so far, it is not as strange as imagined.”

Altman's view comes at a time when leading developers in the field of artificial intelligence are issuing warnings: that general artificial intelligence (AGI) may soon replace a large number of jobs and disrupt the global economy, with its rapid development even making it difficult for governments and institutions to respond.

The so-called “singularity” is a theoretical moment when the intelligence level of artificial intelligence surpasses that of humans, leading to rapid and unpredictable technological leaps, which may result in profound social changes. The “event horizon” refers to an irreversible critical point, beyond which the direction of AI development cannot be changed.

Altman believes that we are entering a “Gentle Singularity”—a gradual and controllable transition towards powerful digital intelligence, rather than a sudden and dramatic change. The takeoff has begun, but it is still understandable and carries positive significance.

As evidence, he mentioned the rapid popularity of ChatGPT since its public release in 2022: “Hundreds of millions of people rely on it every day, and the tasks it handles are becoming increasingly important,” he said.

Data also supports his claim. According to reports, by May 2025, ChatGPT will have 800 million weekly active users. Despite ongoing legal disputes with writers and the media, and calls to pause AI development, OpenAI shows no signs of slowing down.

Altman emphasized that even small technical advances can bring huge benefits. However, at the scale of serving hundreds of millions of users, even a slight deviation can have serious consequences.

To address these potential biases, he proposed several suggestions:

• Ensure that AI systems align with long-term human goals rather than merely satisfying short-term impulses;
• Avoid centralized control by any individual, company, or country;
• Immediately initiate discussions worldwide to clarify which values and boundaries should guide the development of powerful AI.

Altman pointed out that the next five years will be a critical period for the development of artificial intelligence.

He said: “2025 will witness the emergence of 'agents' capable of performing genuine cognitive tasks; the way of writing computer code will be forever changed.” “2026 may bring systems that can discover new insights, and by 2027 we may see Bots that can carry out tasks in the real world.”

He predicts that by 2030, intelligence itself and the ability to generate and execute ideas will become widely available.

He said, “We have long been living in a powerful digital intelligence, and after the initial shock, most people have become accustomed to its presence.” He pointed out that people's astonishment at AI quickly turned into expectations.

As the world awaits the arrival of general artificial intelligence and the singularity, Altman believes that the most astonishing breakthroughs will not be shocking like a revolution—they will become commonplace and become the minimum standard for market entry.

He said, “This is how the singularity manifests: miracles become everyday occurrences and then turn into basic requirements.”

“The speed at which new miracles will be realized will be astonishing. It is hard to imagine what we will discover before 2035; perhaps we will solve high-energy physics problems this year and begin colonizing outer space next year; or maybe we will achieve significant breakthroughs in materials science this year and realize true high-bandwidth brain-machine interfaces next year. Many people will continue to live in the traditional way, but at least a portion of them may choose to 'connect'.”

Looking ahead, all of this seems difficult to understand. But when experienced firsthand, it may only feel shocking yet manageable. From the perspective of relativity, singularity happens bit by bit, and integration is also a slow process. We are climbing along the long arc of exponential technological advancement; from the front, it looks like a vertical rise, while from the back, it appears flat and calm, but in reality, it is a smooth curve. (Think back to 2020; if someone had said that by 2025 we would be close to general artificial intelligence, how crazy it would have sounded; yet the reality of the past five years has made it feel quite normal.)

He wrote at the end of the article: “May we move towards superintelligence smoothly, exponentially, and quietly.”