Sam Altman's interpretation of what constitutes "cool" appears to diverge significantly from the mainstream perspective.
His profile on X features a rather understated remark: "AI is cool i guess." This expression likely invites disagreement from many, particularly with his choice to use a lowercase "i," which some might view as quirky but not universally accepted.
Recently, the CEO of OpenAI introduced what he termed a "cool use case" for ChatGPT, but the response fell flat. He proposed the idea of integrating family calendars and sharing insights about children's interests. He described, in lowercase, how an AI could create a daily podcast for a car ride to school, covering topics like a child's soccer game or an upcoming birthday, stating that he had heard the concept rather than originating it himself.
This notion fits into a larger trend of leveraging AI to alleviate parenting challenges—a theme Altman has been championing for nearly a year. After welcoming a son with his husband Oliver Mulherin in 2025, Altman expressed how essential ChatGPT was during his early days of fatherhood.
However, the notion of relying on AI for daily moments—particularly those spent with children—was met with skepticism. Animator Alex Hirsch, known for his work on Disney's "Gravity Falls," questioned, "What if you just talked to your children?" His response gained substantial traction, receiving tenfold the likes of Altman’s original post.
Numerous users on X chimed in with similar sentiments. One commenter suggested that replacing human connection with AI is among the least favorable applications of technology.
Opinions in OpenAI also seem to be shifting. In a recent post, President Greg Brockman noted that his team members often dislike it when ChatGPT requests assistance, even if they would willingly help a colleague. He remarked that this underscores how much people value personal relationships and collaboration, suggesting that AI should enhance rather than hinder human interactions.
For parents in favor of using AI for support, the primary goal is to save time. Hally Peck, a mother of two, shared with Business Insider that she employs an AI tool to streamline work commitments, school schedules, activities, birthdays, and childcare logistics. "With two kids and both parents working demanding jobs, time is our most precious commodity," she explained.
Altman himself conveyed to Jimmy Fallon that managing a newborn without ChatGPT would be unimaginable, praising the AI for helping him navigate developmental milestones and childcare queries. He has also expressed the belief that his children will grow up much more adept as they learn to work with AI, even while acknowledging they will "never be smarter than AI."
In a more radical take on the future of parenting, Alexandr Wang, a 29-year-old executive at Meta AI and founder of Scale AI, has suggested he might delay having children until brain-computer interfaces like Neuralink are advanced enough. He theorizes that children's unique ability to adapt to technology early on will enable them to think alongside superintelligent systems as they grow.
