UAE world's most forward-looking country for AI adoption, says OpenAI CEO Altman

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, described the UAE as the world's most forward-looking country for artificial intelligence adoption.

Speaking during a panel discussion at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference (ADIPEC 2026), Altman addressed the agreements announced involving OpenAI, ADNOC and G42, saying the partnership between the three parties would help shape and enable the energy sector through artificial intelligence.

He said AI has begun to change the way people work, with tools such as ChatGPT helping people perform their jobs more efficiently, while some are increasingly using AI as a colleague or member of a team.

Altman added that what excites him most is the technology's role in scientific discovery, noting that, over the past few months, AI systems have begun tackling mathematical problems that people had been unable to solve.

He said these capabilities could extend across different fields of science and to complex challenges facing energy production.

Turning to energy, Altman said the amount of energy required for each query is declining as efficiency improves, but lower usage costs are encouraging greater use of AI.

He said he hoped applications of artificial intelligence in the energy sector would generate benefits sufficient to offset the technology's own energy consumption and ultimately help increase global energy availability.

On the impact of AI on jobs, Altman said the technology is already capable of performing many parts of some white-collar jobs, but expressed confidence that societies would be able to adapt to the change.

He stressed the importance of human creativity and judgement and the need for people to remain in control of decisions.

Altman said AI should be a tool that serves people, rather than a system entrusted with decisions about their future.

WAM