Altman calls AI-as-religion comparisons a safety issue

On 4 October 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly rejected comparisons between AI models and religion, saying it makes him "very uneasy" when people "ascribe religious power to AI models or abandon human judgement," and calling it a "real safety issue." The remarks follow a New York Times report on Anthropic engaging with religious leaders and Pope Leo XIV's statement that "algorithms lack the spark of humanity." The report also notes that Altman said in 2023 and 2024 that OpenAI's goal was to build "magic intelligence in the sky."

Written by AI from the reports · updated 12 d ago