ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Amid the dust and noise of a construction site in Abilene, Texas, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared a moment of awe during a recent conversation with comedian and podcaster Theo Von on This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von. Altman described visiting a massive facility under construction in Abilene that could soon become the largest data center ever built—an approximately one-gigawatt project with 5,000 workers already on site.
“You stand in the middle of that and the scale of this project just hits you so big,” Altman said. “This thing is just standing up, making progress every day.”
The facility, still under construction, symbolizes more than just technological ambition. To Altman, it represents a glimpse into the future—a world increasingly shaped by the physical infrastructure required to support artificial intelligence.
FILE – Open AI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, center, speaks at the Advancing Sustainable Development through Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI Event on Sept. 23, 204, in New York. (Bryan R. Smith/Pool Photo via AP, File)“You go in every room, and you look at all the cables, the power, the cooling systems, rack after rack of servers,” he said. “It’s humongous… they’re standing up these like power plants right in the middle of it.”
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From the air, Altman said the site resembles something out of science fiction.
“I was really struck by that,” he added.“ This looks like the motherboard of a computer.”
The Big Unknowns
Altman admits that even as one of the most recognizable leaders in tech, he doesn’t have all the answers about where this path is leading.
“When I was a kid, I assumed that there were always some adults in the room… someone had it all figured out,” he said. “Now that I am the adult in the room, I can say with certainty, no one knows where it’s all gonna go.”
Despite uncertainty, Altman said OpenAI is “working really hard” to make informed guesses and stay transparent with the public. “We try to always say what we think the possibilities are, what we think is most likely,” he explained. “Often we’re right. Sometimes it goes in a totally different direction.”
The Demand for Power
One thing Altman is sure about: the world is going to need a lot more energy.
“I can say with conviction, the world needs a lot more processing power. But if that looks like tiling data centers on Earth, which I think is what it looks like in the short term, or we go build them in space—I don’t know,” he said. “It sounds cool to try to build them in space, but also, really hard.”
Asked about environmental concerns—especially related to water usage and energy demands in places like Arizona and Iowa—Altman emphasized the need to pursue nuclear fusion.
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“I think we need to get to fusion [nuclear fusion] as fast as possible,” he said. “Where you bascially knock two small atoms together and it makes a bunch of energy but no carbon, very clean, doesn’t generate [carbon], doesn’t really harm the environment. And power can become like, abundant and pretty limitless on Earth.”
OpenAI is investing in the future of fusion energy, Altman confirmed, and believes artificial intelligence could accelerate that goal.
“If you have to burn a little more gas in the short term but figure out the future of energy with AI—it’s a huge win,” he said.
Intelligence and Energy: The Next Frontiers
Altman sees two forces defining the coming decades: intelligence and energy. “The ability to have great ideas, come up with plans—and energy, the ability to make them happen and to run the intelligence,” he said. “The story of the next couple decades is going to be the demand for these goes up and up and up to crazy heights.”
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Without enough supply, he warns, the risk is not just technological—but societal.
“We better find out how to produce a lot, otherwise someone’s going to feel like they’re getting screwed,” he said.
Fear, Curiosity—and Responsibility
As the world moves toward artificial general intelligence and beyond, Altman embraces the mixed emotions that come with it.
“I don’t think anyone could honestly look at the trajectory humanity is on and not feel both excited and scared.”
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To watch or listen to the full podcast and hear more from Sam Altman about the Abilene AI Campus, artificial intelligence, and the future of data centers follow the link.
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