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Comment by demadog | Hacker News Reader

I predict his character arch will be similar to Adam Neumann and Travis Kalanick - first the media gushes over him and praises him as a genius. Then the media starts to question him. Then they start to fully dig in and dig up a ton of dirt.

With no mainstream outlet pushing forth the allegations his sister is claiming on social, I imagine right now they are looking under every rock on that end.

I respect his hustle but there is something about him in watching him speak live and in person that comes off as incredibly manipulative. He knows how to speak and pause in a way that gets the audience to laugh and gives soundbites. I am long OpenAI but I don’t trust Sam.

He could follow the character arch of his friend Thiel where the media come after him but he’s too resilient.

Or Zuckerberg where the media hated him for years and then moved on.

What do you think?

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> there is something about him in watching him speak live and in person

Greatest mistake you can make is watch someone speak live about what they're selling. If they're a good actor they'll win you over.

Accurate. Psychology, history and the intersection thereof broadly supports the idea that we drastically overestimate our ability to measure character and intention based on in-person interactions. Some oft cited cases being how numerous British public figures who sat down with Hitler tragically misread his intentions, in contrast to those who appraised him from a distance based on actions, policies and writings. Likewise, GWB's famous ability to peer into Putin's soul.

I would, however, add that just because most people are bad at estimating others doesn't mean that everyone is equally bad. There may be some people who are incredibly good at seeing where others are coming from and what their true intentions are. But, of course, everyone's probably overestimating their own capacity to estimate others.

I dislike the fact that he peddles the AGI angle too much. Literally, way above normal.

It would be nice to see him be down to Earth for a change and show some compassion but what do I know.. maybe those aren’t his strongest qualities.

It's pretty entertaining how the pro-Altman firehose turned off like a light switch after a couple days of all discussion being choked in an endless stream of Altman praise.

At least Adam Neumann is a weirdo with a personality.

I trust Greg, and Greg trusts Sam.

Transitive trust is a bad idea. The telephone game aka "chinese whispers" demonstrates why.

Sam isn't charismatic in the classic showman way. He has nerd appeal but he isn't magically persuasive. He just seems very "focused" so his claims feel believable.

>I respect his hustle but there is something about him in watching him speak live and in person that comes off as incredibly manipulative. He knows how to speak and pause in a way that gets the audience to laugh and gives soundbites. I am long OpenAI but I don’t trust Sam.

You can say the same thing about Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs is a jerk for sure but a bad personality does not predict success or failure as much as you (or we) hope to. And what people say about your character is also overly dependent on results. Only time will tell whether Sam Altman will be considered a villain or a flawed hero in media.

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