Barry Diller: Trusting Sam Altman Is Irrelevant for AGI

Media mogul Barry Diller has dismissed the ongoing debate over the personal integrity of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, arguing that the rapid advancement toward artificial general intelligence (AGI) renders the question of trust largely secondary.

Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” conference, the chairman of IAC and Expedia Group addressed recent public scrutiny surrounding Altman’s leadership style. Despite allegations from some former colleagues labeling the OpenAI executive as deceptive or manipulative, Diller maintained that he considers Altman to be a “decent person with good values.”

The Great Unknown of AGI

However, Diller emphasized that the existential implications of AI development far outweigh the character of those currently leading the industry. As the tech sector races toward AGI—a theoretical threshold where machines could surpass human intelligence across any task—Diller noted that even the developers themselves are operating in uncharted territory.

“One of the big issues with AI is it goes way beyond trust,” Diller explained. “It may be that trust is irrelevant because the things that are happening are a surprise to the people who are making those things happen. I’ve spent a lot of time with various people who’ve been in the creation mode of AI, and they have a sense of wonder themselves. It’s the great unknown. We don’t know. They don’t know.”

The Necessity of Guardrails

Diller, a co-founder of Fox Broadcasting, warned that the trajectory of AI progress is accelerating, bringing society closer to AGI at an unprecedented pace. He argued that the focus must shift from the sincerity of individual leaders toward the implementation of robust safety measures.

The risks, according to Diller, are significant:

• Unpredictable outcomes: The industry is embarking on a path that will fundamentally alter almost every aspect of human life.
• Lack of control: Without proactive guardrails, Diller suggests that the technology could reach a point where it governs its own evolution.
• The point of no return: Once an AGI force is fully unleashed, there will be no mechanism to reverse its impact.

“The issue is not their stewardship. The issue is dealing truly with the unknown,” Diller said. “We must think about guardrails. If we don’t, another force, an AGI force, will do it themselves. And once that happens, once you unleash that, there’s no going back.”

While Diller remains skeptical of the massive financial investments pouring into the sector—noting that he has no personal stake in the outcome—he maintains that the technological momentum is inevitable. Regardless of whether specific investment goals are met, he believes the march toward super-intelligence will continue unabated.