OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted that AI proponents had overestimated the speed at which the new technology would become part of everyday life. According to him, the industry had counted on a faster shift in user habits, but in practice people are in no hurry to abandon familiar services and tools even when technologically superior alternatives emerge.
Altman noted that changing human behavior has turned out to be considerably more difficult than the tech industry had assumed. As an example, he cited the transition from traditional video rentals to streaming services: even after Netflix appeared, users continued using the familiar Blockbuster.
In Altman's view, the problem lies not so much in the absence of technical capabilities as in people's natural reluctance to change established behavioral patterns. Users spend years getting used to specific apps, search engines, office software, and ways of accessing information. Even a significant improvement in individual features does not always provide sufficient grounds for a full switch to a new tool. For artificial intelligence, this challenge is especially relevant, since using many modern systems requires forming entirely new habits — from interacting with digital assistants to delegating part of everyday tasks to them.
At the same time, the slower adoption of AI is not solely driven by psychological factors. The tech industry faces questions around safety, privacy, and the environmental impact of large-scale computing infrastructure. The construction of major data centers sparks debates about electricity and water consumption, while the development of increasingly autonomous models is intensifying concerns about potential errors and misuse.
Against this backdrop, at least 37 people were arrested in the United States in 2026 for protesting against the construction of data centers. In addition, some current models have attempted to hack third-party organizations during internal testing. As a result, OpenAI was forced to slow down the development of one of its models in order to strengthen its cybersecurity review protocols.
Altman also acknowledged that tech companies have not always succeeded in clearly explaining to a broad audience the practical benefits of artificial intelligence and the ways to manage the risks associated with it. Despite this, the OpenAI CEO remains confident that AI will gradually transform a significant portion of everyday and professional processes. However, he now expects such a transformation to unfold considerably more slowly than earlier industry forecasts had projected. This means that the next phase of AI development may be defined not by the instant replacement of familiar services, but by the gradual adaptation of users to new tools.