Sam Altman doesn't want his son to grow up with an AI best friend

Sam Altman's friendship goals for his infant son do not include AI.

The OpenAI CEO was asked Thursday while giving Senate testimony whether he'd want his child to form a best-friend bond with an AI bot.

"I do not," Altman replied.

The question, from Sen. Bernie Moreno, came during a broader discussion about how to shield children from harm in the AI era as people trust chatbots with more personal information.

"These AI systems will get to know you over the course of your life so well — that presents a new challenge and level of importance for how we think about privacy in the world of AI," said Altman, who became a father in February.

Altman said that people were already forming deeply personal relationships with artificial intelligence and essentially relying on it for emotional support.

"It's a newer thing in recent months, and I don't think it's all bad," he said. "But I think we have to understand it and watch it very carefully."

Altman said there should be greater flexibility for adults using AI tools, while children should have "a much higher level of protection."

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But, as with other online services, it can be difficult to know a user's age.

"If we could draw a line, and if we knew for sure when a user was a child or an adult, we would allow adults to be much more permissive and we'd have tighter rules for children," Altman added.

He has previously spoken about what it means to raise a child in the AI era.

"My kid is never going to grow up being smarter than AI," he said during a January episode of the "Re:Thinking" podcast with Adam Grant. "Children in the future will only know a world with AI in it."

Last month, Altman said OpenAI was no longer his proudest achievement after his son, who was born prematurely, learned to eat on his own.

On Thursday, Altman said his son was "doing well," adding that it's "the most amazing thing ever."