Sam Altman says he can't go out to eat in public anymore in San Francisco: 'It's a strangely isolating way to live'
Business InsiderMay 24
Altman Joins San Francisco Mayor-elect's Transition Team
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Above: Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, during an interview at Bloomberg House on the opening day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 16, 2024. Image copyright: Chris Ratcliffe/Contributor/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The Facts
On Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie's transition team. He will work with nine other leaders with an eye to guide Lurie's administration with innovation initiatives.
Lurie, a Levi Strauss heir and philanthropist, will become San Francisco's next mayor on Jan. 8, replacing London Breed. As mayor, Lurie will confront the city's post-pandemic economic recovery as well as drug and homelessness issues.
The Spin
Narrative A
San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie is serious about shaking up the status quo. In order to achieve this, he has assembled a transition team consisting of prominent tech leaders and individuals with vast experience in managing the city. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, along with the other co-chairs, will help build the basis for the change that San Franciscans demand — leveraging his accomplishments in the rising AI industry.
Narrative B
Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie will be the first San Francisco mayor in more than a century to have no prior government experience, and he, like Donald Trump in 2016, is a political newcomer with very deep pockets. And, just as Trump has received backing from Silicon Valley tech moguls, so has moderate Democrat Lurie. Altman's foray into politics should be viewed as a concerning continuation of the growing influence of the tech industry on US politics.