OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said psychedelic experiences can be "totally incredible."Kevork Djansezian/Getty OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed his experience with psychedelics in a new podcast interview.
He said he used to be a "very anxious, unhappy person" and psychedelics helped him become "calm."
Altman previously posted on X about psychedelics and has served as a chairman of a psychedelic therapy startup.
Sam Altman, the tech CEO behind ChatGPT , is also a big supporter of psychedelics.
OpenAI cofounder shared some personal anecdotes in a recent appearance on the podcast "Life in Seven Songs," saying that doing psychedelics was one of the most transformative experiences of his life. Altman said psychedelic experiences can be "totally incredible," and for him, they’ve been life-altering.
It may come as a surprise that the billionaire, who has been described as highly confident and charming , used to consider himself a "very anxious, unhappy person."
"If you had told me that, like, one weekend-long retreat in Mexico was going to significantly change that, I would have said absolutely not," Altman said. "And it really did."
The CEO didn’t specify which psychedelics he used, but he said the experience changed him in a lot of ways. One of the biggest was that he now feels like a "calm person" and the shift improved his quality of life and also helped him work on hard things.
While the CEO said he has also dabbled in psychedelics at Burning Man, he said the "life-changing" experiences for him have been those where he travels and goes through the experience with a guide. The Burning Man version, he said, has been less altering and a rare occurrence.It’s not the first time the tech mogul has spoken publicly about psychedelics.In addition to various health startups the billionaire has invested in, Altman has served as the board chairman of a startup called Journey Colab that aims to help people suffering from addiction with the development and application of clinical psychedelic drugs for therapy. It’s not clear if he remains in the position, and Journey Colab did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for […]
Sam Altman says doing psychedelics during a weekend retreat in Mexico changed his life
