Sam Altman Says Intelligence Will Be a Utility, and He's Just the Man to Collect the Bills
Gizmodo
BlackRock U.S. Infrastructure Summit, Washington, D.C. (fireside chat with OpenAI board member Adebayo Ogunlesi)
“We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter”
Sam Altman11 March 2026- What you'll lose3/5
Thinking, as a monthly bill.
- Condescension2/5
People 'buy it from us'.
- Tone-deafness4/5
The meter, said aloud at an investors' infrastructure summit.
- Doom0/5
None.
- Hypocrisy2/5
'Too cheap to meter', in the same breath.
Full time11 pitchforksof a possible 25
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The occasion
BlackRock U.S. Infrastructure Summit, Washington, D.C. (fireside chat with OpenAI board member Adebayo Ogunlesi), 11 March 2026.
Context
Describing OpenAI's long-term vision, Altman likened AI to a metered utility and went on to say OpenAI's goal is to make intelligence abundant, borrowing the old energy-industry phrase 'too cheap to meter'.
Crowd reaction
Widespread criticism
The Cool Down reports the line 'quickly caused controversy', with critics fearing a paywall for thinking and one user joking he was 'pitching a subscription model for thinking'; Gizmodo ties the analogy to data centers driving up neighbours' power costs.
- Gizmodo: Sam Altman Says Intelligence Will Be a Utility, and He’s Just the Man to Collect the Bills
- The Cool Down: Sam Altman sparks backlash over claims that intelligence will be a utility: 'A future where … people buy it from us on a meter'
- Tom's Guide: 'People will buy intelligence from us on a meter': ChatGPT's CEO, Sam Altman, has critics worried with his AI vision
- Where the exact words are printed