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AI journalist Karen Hao, author of “Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI,” sheds light on the complex reality behind OpenAI’s rapid growth. Hao’s insights, stemming from an interview with MIT Technology Review, suggest that the company’s ambitious pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI) is creating an “empire” with significant ethical and environmental implications. While OpenAI’s focus on scaling existing AI techniques has yielded impressive results, Hao raises concerns about the sustainability and equitable distribution of the benefits. She emphasizes the need for greater transparency and a shift towards alternative AI development models that prioritize task-specific solutions and foster community engagement, challenging the industry to consider the broader societal impact of its innovations.