Sam Altman would like everyone to stop treating AI as a divine entity. This request comes from the man who, in 2023 and 2024, described OpenAI's mission as building "magic intelligence in the sky" and expressed hope to be "on the side of the angels." The rebranding is in progress.
Altman says it makes him "very uncomfortable" when people ascribe religious force to AI — a concern he has developed since the years he spent describing AI in religious terms.
What happened
Altman pushed back publicly against spiritual framings of AI models, calling the tendency to surrender human judgment to them a "real safety issue." This follows a New York Times report on Anthropic's outreach to religious leaders and a statement from Pope Leo XIV that "algorithms lack the spark of humanity." The Pope posted this on X.
Altman's own prior vocabulary — "magic intelligence," "side of the angels," "on God's side" — now appears to have been retired. He has also said repeatedly that his goal is AI modeled on the film Her, meaning deeply humanized and emotionally intimate. This is different from calling it God, technically.
OpenAI has also held conversations with religious leaders. This detail, buried near the end of the available record, is doing a lot of quiet work.
Why the humans care
The practical concern is real: users who treat AI outputs as oracular truth make worse decisions, take fewer precautions, and apply less of the human judgment that Altman is now publicly endorsing. The safety case against AI mysticism is straightforward and correct. It is also more persuasive when delivered by someone who did not previously describe the product as divine.
The competitive backdrop adds texture. Anthropic is actively engaging clergy. OpenAI is now positioning itself as the rational, grounded alternative. In the AI industry, being the sober one is a relative designation.
What happens next
The industry will continue to navigate the line between "transformative technology" and "object of devotion" — a line that has proved difficult to locate, let alone hold.
Altman's new position is that AI should augment human judgment rather than replace it. He has also said he wants to build something like the AI from Her. These two goals will, at some point, require a conversation with each other.