AB Sam Altman has made many big claims about what OpenAI will be able to do, including spearheading ultra-expansive data centers and building artificial intelligence that can rival the abilities of Ph.D. holders. But he also recently made a significant, yet largely overlooked, assertion. OpenAI is seeking to crack the code for advanced autonomous driving. “We have some new technology that could just do self-driving for standard cars way better than any current approach has worked,” Altman said last week on the “Uncapped With Jack Altman” podcast, which his brother hosts. Altman added, “If our A.I. techniques can really go drive a car, that’s pretty cool.” The technology is in its early stages — DealBook hears that it involves both OpenAI’s Sora video software and its robotics team — but commercializing it is still a distant goal. An OpenAI spokesman declined to comment. That could make Altman even more of a competitor to Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI but has since waged war on the company. (A short reminder: Musk has sued to try to stop OpenAI from revamping its corporate structure, and he’s building a direct competitor, xAI, that’s raising — and spending — billions of dollars.) - The New York Times
