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What to know about Sam Altman’s visit to Lagos

What to know about Sam Altman’s visit to Lagos

Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, in March, announced his cross-country trip in May/June to talk to OpenAI users, developers, and policymakers in various cities.

In a Tweet, he invited interested persons to come out and share their various thoughts, feature request, and feedback on Open AI.

He added that he will be visiting Toronto, DC, Rio, Lagos, Madrid, Brussels, Munich, London, Paris, Tel Aviv, Dubai, New Delhi, Singapore, Jakarta, Seoul, Tokyo, Melbourne, and many others.

Prior to his visit to Lagos, Altman testified before members of the US Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, May 16, and largely agreed with them on the need to regulate the A.I. technology being created inside his company and others like Google and Microsoft.

During the hearing, he admitted that his ‘biggest concerns’ involve causing significant harm to the planet’ through technological developments. Adding that “If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong.”

Altman proposed the formation of a U.S. or global agency that would license the most powerful AI systems and have the authority to “take that license away and ensure compliance with safety standards.”

Read also: How Ekezie is simplifying financial, inventory solutions for SMEs

Altman’s visit to Lagos

Sam Altman was at an exclusive OpenAI event in Muson Centre, Lagos, Nigeria, on May 19, 2023.

At Muson, Altman was seen speaking with students of the American International School of Lagos on the emerging artificial intelligence (AI) -powered future, along with more than a dozen other students from local schools.

Altman’s interactions in Nigeria not only focused on promoting AI interest but also on strengthening partnerships and gathering valuable feedback. During his engagements, he encouraged potential clients and interested individuals to fill out a form, providing basic information and reasons for wanting to meet.

In addition, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos state said he had a dialogue session with, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, at the United States Consul General, Will Stevens’ residence.

In a Tweet, Sanwo-Olu said, “OpenAI is an Artificial Intelligence tool, built to assist and empower individuals in countless domains, from healthcare to education, from creative pursuits to scientific breakthroughs.”

“One of Open AI’s initiatives is the “ChatGPT”, an artificial intelligence tool that allows a user to have human-like conversations with the chatbot. The language model can answer questions and assist you with tasks, such as composing emails, essays, and code.”

“Currently the most powerful artificial intelligence tool in the world, ChatGPT will go a long way in revolutionizing the way users work and process information and data,” he said.