Sep 25, 2024 10:21 AM IST
Sam Altman, OpenAI cofounder, recounted transformative psychedelic experiences noting they helped him overcome anxiety and unhappiness.
Sam Altman, OpenAI cofounder, shared several personal anecdotes in a recent appearance on the podcast “Life in Seven Songs” including one on his drug usage. Doing psychedelics was one of the most transformative experiences of my life, Sam Altman said adding that psychedelic experiences can be “totally incredible” and have been life-altering for him.
Sam Altman said that he used to consider himself a “very anxious, unhappy person” but the experience of psychedelics changed him significantly making him a “calm person” and helped him work hard on things.
He said, “If you had told me that, like, one weekend-long retreat in Mexico was going to significantly change that, I would have said absolutely not. And it really did.”
The tech boss didn’t specify which psychedelics he used but said that he has also dabbled in psychedelics at Burning Man which was a “life-changing” experience for him. The Burning Man version, he said, has been less altering and a rare occurrence.
Earlier, Sam Altman posted on X (formerly Twitter) about psychedelics in 2022, which evoked a response from Elon Musk as well. He had then said, “A lot of crazy stories start with too much amphetamines and end with not enough psychedelics.”