Sam Altman a ‘sociopath’: Bombshell report claims lack of trust in OpenAI CEO

On the surface, Sam Altman appears to be this hot shot poster boy of GenAI, ever since ChatGPT captured everyone’s imagination in late 2022. He’s the guy cutting multi-billion dollar deals, from Microsoft to Stargate, pushing AI down everyone’s throats. All the while smiling, waving, basking in the glitz and glory of being one of the key architects of AI’s broad adoption curve around the world – much to Elon Musk’s chagrin, with whom Altman has engaged in a very public feud.

Turns out, Musk wasn’t totally unhinged in all his public attacks on Altman – largely restricted to his X.com feed. A new bombshell piece by the New Yorker is raising serious questions about Sam Altman’s character, competence and temperament, based on more than a hundred interviews conducted with industry insiders (including high ranking ex-OpenAI personnel) over the past year or so. 

The question being asked is whether Sam Altman is worthy of our trust? Should we, as users, follow him blindly as the Pied Piper of all things AI?

Sam Altman “unconstrained by truth”

The New Yorker investigation is based on secret memos put together by Ilya Sutskever, former chief scientist at OpenAI, and over 200 pages of notes from current Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who was OpenAI’s former safety lead.

“Lying” is the first word Sutskever used to describe Sam Altman’s consistent pattern of behaviour, in one of his memos. This sentiment was echoed by Amodei, according to his private notes from his time working under Sam Altman, writing, “The problem with OpenAI is Sam himself.”

According to the New Yorker report, one tech executive called Sam Altman as being “unbelievably persuasive” to the level of playing Jedi mind tricks. One can argue that it’s a superpower for anyone, let alone the CEO of OpenAI, in trying to rally the troops towards building truly game-changing AI.

Also read: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman tried to scam US govt for billions, here is how

However, that’s not the case. According to the New Yorker report, quoting multiple tech executives and former OpenAI employees, Sam Altman is described as an unapologetic liar and an expert manipulator of people ensuring they bend to his will.

The part from the article that’s especially revealing is as follows: “He has two traits that are almost never seen in the same person. The first is a strong desire to please people, to be liked in any given interaction. The second is almost a sociopathic lack of concern for the consequences that may come from deceiving someone.”

The New Yorker just dropped a massive investigation into Sam Altman, based on over 100 interviews, the previously undisclosed "Ilya Memos," and Dario Amodei's 200+ pages of private notes. It's the most detailed account yet of the pattern of behavior that led to Sam's firing and… pic.twitter.com/vX5xIp5DnI

— Ryan (@ohryansbelt) April 6, 2026

Aaron Swartz, co-founder of Reddit, who passed away in 2013, and was batchmates with Sam Altman at Y Combinator in 2005, characterised Altman as a “sociopath” who “can never be trusted” and who “would do anything.” According to former OpenAI board member, Sue Yoon thought Altman was too intoxicated on his own koolaid. She said that Altman “does things that, if you live in the real world, make no sense.”

Sam Altman failed the trust test

Things obviously came to a head, when Sam Altman was fired as CEO of OpenAI back in 2023. This was because the board at the time blamed Altman for “not being consistently candid in his communications,” which led to a breakdown in trust.

Remember, a board is after all supposed to have oversight abilities over any company’s CEO, and back in 2023 the OpenAI board (which consisted of Sutskever, among others) rejected Altman’s stewardship because they lacked faith in him. They accused Altman of not being up front about concerns related to AI safety and governance.

Also read: Sam Altman misled board on GPT-4 safety approvals before getting fired, claims report

Of course, we all remember how Altman returned as CEO in just five days, and most of the people from the old board that had ousted him either resigned or moved on. Since then, the investigative report highlights, OpenAI’s board is filled with Altman’s allies.

Perhaps the most important allegation raised in the report calls into question just how much OpenAI has transformed for the worse from its founding ideals under Sam Altman – something that Elon Musk has been highlighting in his X.com tirade consistently. According to the report, not only has OpenAI pivoted into a for-profit company, but it has also closed most of its safety teams. OpenAI insiders suggest the company charter no longer guides its direction, and an independent investigation into allegations that led to Altman’s ouster from OpenAI in 2023 never produced a written report.

The memos and notes that the bombshell New Yorker report is based on paints a grim picture of Sam Altman, a person who allegedly deceives and manipulates to serve his own purpose. Of course, there are always two sides to a story, but until Altman tries to set the record straight, should he be entrusted with the responsibility of shaping the future of AI at OpenAI? The answer from everyone who contributed to the New Yorker’s reportage seems to be an overwhelming no.

Also read: Elon Musk and OpenAI: How a partnership became a $134 billion legal war