These are the 5 most surprising takeaways from Sam Altman at OpenAI's big developer conference
At DevDay 2026, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman weighed in on the job market and called tokens a "terrible" metric. He also shared how he uses the Dots agents.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman made several surprising statements at his flagship conference, DevDay. He criticized the Industrial Revolution analogy for AI, asserting that AI's impact will surpass that of the Industrial Revolution, which was a defining historical transition. Altman also dismissed tokens as a poor measure of AI, arguing that different models use varying amounts of tokens to complete the same task, making them an unreliable proxy for actual value.
He revealed that OpenAI is developing a personal AI agent called Dots, which helps him reduce his reliance on his smartphone and feels calmer about his to-do list. When asked about AI safety, Altman advocated for a centrist approach, acknowledging that safety must stay ahead of capabilities while continuing to develop AI. Finally, he encouraged recent graduates to enter the job market, asserting that it's a better time than ever to do so, despite some job losses, which he believes will be offset by overall economic growth.
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