Axel Springer Award '25: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman interviewed by Mathias Dopfner, CEO of Axel Springer

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI (Honoree and Speaker) . Altman accepted the award humbly, reflecting on AI's role in enhancing human life without overshadowing it. In his conversation with Döpfner, he addressed AI's integration into daily life, stating: “I believe you can never fight evolutionary biology. We are so wired to care about other people and not to care about machines. We’ll be happy that these machines will be doing stuff for us, making the world richer and discovering new science, and curing diseases. But they will not be the center of the story.” He voiced worries about global threats to democracy and freedom of expression: “I worry that democracy and the associated values, like freedom of expression that make it work, are under increasing attack globally.” Altman highlighted Germany's importance as OpenAI's fifth-largest market and discussed iterative AI regulation, predicting a future of AI-empowered small businesses. In the closing debate with Deutsch, Altman proposed solving quantum gravity as an AGI benchmark, which Deutsch endorsed. Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer As host and interviewer, Döpfner introduced the award and led the main conversation with Altman, praising his risk-taking ethos: “One of the main purposes of this award is to encourage entrepreneurship. To encourage a risk-taker culture. You are famous for taking the biggest risks.” Their discussion covered freedom of expression, transatlantic relations, AI risks, and the recent SAP-OpenAI partnership, which enables millions of German users to access ChatGPT. Döpfner expressed concerns about eroding open societies, asking: “Are we really at the beginning of the end of the open societies that we love to live in?” He also facilitated the chat with Deutsch, referencing Altman's favorite book, The Beginning of Infinity. During the summit, Döpfner outlined a new three-pillar strategy for Axel Springer in AI, media, and responsibility. Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@techusiness Follow us on Social Media: Twitter / X https://x.com/Techusiness Threads https://www.threads.net/@techusiness Instagram https://www.instagram.com/techusiness/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@techusiness LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/techusiness/ Contact Info Email techusiness@gmail.com