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I don't know why HN loves Sam Altman so much. Has he ever written a significant piece of software or invented anything? Has he ever built a significant, profita

I don't know why HN loves Sam Altman so much. Has he ever written a significant piece of software or invented anything? Has he ever built a significant, profitable business from the ground up? The guy was a fundraiser superstar when money was easy to get in the 2010s but I have yet to see technical or business competence sufficient to grant him the level of respect many in this community seem to grant him. There are people who are technically competent or genuinely intelligent who can also raise funds. The guy reminds me of Elizabeth Holmes or Eliezer Yudkowski of "lesswrong." A sophomoric guy with minimal technical or business accomplishments who is just smart enough to tell rich people what they wanna hear to fuel his game. There is an old term for this personality type. Snake oil salesman aka con artist. See https://blog.piekniewski.info/ https://blog.piekniewski.info/ For a sane take on AI by someone who actually got an education and is an expert in his field.

sweeter 3y ago
He's the new Elon Musk that people can idolize. I really don't understand the obsession with corporate venture capitalist vultures and trust fund babies. He's a glorified hype man. He curates a positive public image and makes dubious claims about the abilities of <insert new tech here> to drum up funding. There is a large subset of tech oriented people who are extremely susceptible to sensationalism and treat these people like cult leaders to aspire to. Its just odd.
- morpheos137 3y ago
  It's the way people are wired. They need a hero to look to. Now usually the outcome is better in the end when the hero is genuine not a mimic. I think "show, don't tell," is a good rule of thumb for judging character. It's even in the Bible as a parable of Jesus something like judge a vine by its fruit. In the early 21st century it seems judgements of business acumen have become untethered from actually making money by building a real product that is in demand by the market. At a certain point the game of shuffling money around as a shell game will become unsustainable. That's already evidenced in the high inflation rate we have.
pedalpete 3y ago
Though Loopt was not a smashing success, it was moderately successful for a time. Sam then advised start-ups and was president of YC. He has been a key figure in OpenAI since it's inception, and based on the response from the employees when he was booted, I'd say they have a great respect for his leadership. When Sama left YC for OpenAI, it was still 2.5-3 years from launching a product (I could be wrong on that). So he has lead the release of the fastest growing company. So, I'd say yes, he has done some very significant things, and will likely continue to do them. However, I also would be cautious of conflating founder with investor, which I see quite often. Sam is involved with a fusion company (I don't know which one), and I hear it spoken as if that is his company, but I believe he is just the investor. Maybe an active investor, but I agree, let's give credit to the people on the field, not those who buy the box seats.
- morpheos137 3y ago
  "growth" doesn't equal profitable or a viable business. it is really easy to sell some one else's dollar for 80 cents.
  - pedalpete 3y ago
    I can only hope you're speaking from a "man in the ring" perspective.
    - morpheos137 3y ago
      No need. The point of a business is to make money not just burn it. It is that simple. It is kind of funny that you attempt to appeal to authority to some how invalidate this elementary concept. It doesn't. It really isn't impressive, from a business standpoint that a smooth talking huckster college dropout with no significant track record of significant business success can burn billions, now trillions of dollars of other people's money without having a viable business.
      - pedalpete 3y ago
        If you think OpenAI isn't successful....

sweeter 3y ago

He's the new Elon Musk that people can idolize. I really don't understand the obsession with corporate venture capitalist vultures and trust fund babies. He's a glorified hype man. He curates a positive public image and makes dubious claims about the abilities of <insert new tech here> to drum up funding. There is a large subset of tech oriented people who are extremely susceptible to sensationalism and treat these people like cult leaders to aspire to. Its just odd.

morpheos137 3y ago
It's the way people are wired. They need a hero to look to. Now usually the outcome is better in the end when the hero is genuine not a mimic. I think "show, don't tell," is a good rule of thumb for judging character. It's even in the Bible as a parable of Jesus something like judge a vine by its fruit. In the early 21st century it seems judgements of business acumen have become untethered from actually making money by building a real product that is in demand by the market. At a certain point the game of shuffling money around as a shell game will become unsustainable. That's already evidenced in the high inflation rate we have.

pedalpete 3y ago

Though Loopt was not a smashing success, it was moderately successful for a time. Sam then advised start-ups and was president of YC. He has been a key figure in OpenAI since it's inception, and based on the response from the employees when he was booted, I'd say they have a great respect for his leadership. When Sama left YC for OpenAI, it was still 2.5-3 years from launching a product (I could be wrong on that). So he has lead the release of the fastest growing company. So, I'd say yes, he has done some very significant things, and will likely continue to do them. However, I also would be cautious of conflating founder with investor, which I see quite often. Sam is involved with a fusion company (I don't know which one), and I hear it spoken as if that is his company, but I believe he is just the investor. Maybe an active investor, but I agree, let's give credit to the people on the field, not those who buy the box seats.

morpheos137 3y ago
"growth" doesn't equal profitable or a viable business. it is really easy to sell some one else's dollar for 80 cents.
- pedalpete 3y ago
  I can only hope you're speaking from a "man in the ring" perspective.
  - morpheos137 3y ago
    No need. The point of a business is to make money not just burn it. It is that simple. It is kind of funny that you attempt to appeal to authority to some how invalidate this elementary concept. It doesn't. It really isn't impressive, from a business standpoint that a smooth talking huckster college dropout with no significant track record of significant business success can burn billions, now trillions of dollars of other people's money without having a viable business.
    - pedalpete 3y ago
      If you think OpenAI isn't successful....