Altman Outlines Five OpenAI Principles for Achieving ‘Universal AI Benefit’

OpenAI aims to decentralize power by distributing AI widely.

OpenAI aims to place truly universal artificial intelligence in the hands of as many people as possible to decentralize power, stated the company’s head, Sam Altman.

Our Principles:

Democratization, Empowerment, Universal Prosperity, Resilience, and Adaptabilityhttps://t.co/g58WGndARw

— Sam Altman (@sama) April 26, 2026

According to him, AI can significantly enhance many aspects of societal life. This technology will expand people’s capabilities and freedom more than steam engines or electricity did in their time.

“We envision a world where prosperity reaches levels that are currently hard to imagine. In it, individual potential, freedom of action, and self-realization will significantly increase,” he stated.

Many things from science fiction will become reality, although such an outcome is not guaranteed, Altman emphasized. Power in the future could end up in the hands of a small group of companies controlling superintelligence.

“Our mission is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity,” noted the entrepreneur.

He outlined the principles guiding OpenAI.

Democratization

The company will oppose the technology contributing to the concentration of power in the hands of a few.

“This means that in addition to providing everyone with access to AI, we must ensure that key decisions regarding the technology are made within democratic processes and based on principles of equality, not just in neural network development labs,” Altman stated.

Empowerment

The developer of ChatGPT believes that AI can enable everyone to achieve their goals, learn more, be happier, feel more fulfilled, and pursue dreams, while the community as a whole will benefit from the technology’s development.

“To achieve this goal, people must be empowered to explore vast potential and create the necessary products,” reads the message from the head of OpenAI.

He added that the company is responsible for minimizing the negative aspects of AI integration. These include both catastrophic and minimal harm.

Universal Prosperity

The startup strives for a future where everyone “can live a full life.” It is convinced that if everyone is given access to simple AI systems with high computational power, people will find new ways to create value and significantly improve the quality of life for all. This is especially true for scientific discoveries.

For universal prosperity, it is necessary that:

• governments consider new economic models to ensure everyone’s participation in value creation;
• new vast amounts of AI infrastructure are created and technologies are developed to reduce the costs of their construction.

Resilience

AI will bring new risks, so OpenAI is ready to collaborate with other companies, ecosystems, governments, and society to eliminate them.

“No single lab can ensure a prosperous future on its own,” stated Altman.

As an example, he cited a situation where extremely powerful models simplify the creation of new pathogens. In such a case, humanity needs to take countermeasures.

Another example is the growing capabilities of neural networks in cybersecurity. It requires the application of AI to ensure the security of open-source software and critical infrastructure.

“Society must cope with each subsequent level of artificial intelligence capabilities, understand it, integrate it, and collectively find the best way forward. This cannot be done in a vacuum,” noted Altman.

Adaptability

According to OpenAI, the only way to deal with the challenges of an extremely unpredictable future is to be ready to adjust positions as new information becomes available.

“We recognize that the company plays a much more significant role in the world today than a few years ago, and we intend to openly communicate changes in our operating principles,” reads the statement from the head of the firm.

He added that OpenAI is willing to sacrifice some empowerment for greater resilience.

Earlier, journalists from the New Yorker conducted an extensive 18-month investigation into Sam Altman’s activities and concluded that he often lied in his role as CEO of OpenAI.