In her book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI (Penguin Press, May 2025), investigative journalist Karen Hao unveils the troubling underbelly of the artificial intelligence race. Through 300 interviews and years of investigation, she exposes how OpenAI, under Sam Altman’s leadership, embodies a new form of technological imperialism.
OpenAI: From utopia to empire
Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit laboratory, OpenAI initially promised to develop AI “for the benefit of humanity.” Karen Hao traces how Sam Altman, recruited in 2019, progressively transformed the structure into an aggressive entity aligned with American economic and geopolitical interests.
- Power strategy : Altman seduced Elon Musk by echoing his existential fears about AI, while gradually sidelining critical voices on the board 1 7 11.
- Pivot toward profit : In 2023, OpenAI announces its restructuring into a public benefit corporation, enabling it to raise billions while escaping oversight from its nonprofit body 10.
“Altman built an empire by exploiting Silicon Valley’s fears and ambitions,” Hao explains in an interview 9.
The Altman affair: a revealing coup d’état
In November 2023, the board of directors fires Altman, citing a “loss of confidence.” His triumphant return 72 hours later, backed by Microsoft and employees, marks a turning point:
- Internal purge : Key figures like Ilya Sutskever (cofounder) and Mira Murati (CTO) leave the company, consolidating Altman’s power 10.
- New governance : The board is replaced by allies, including former Salesforce CEO Bret Taylor 10.
According to Hao, this episode illustrates the culture of secrecy and centralization of power around Altman, described as a “master manipulator.”
Global impact: exploitation and extraction
Hao expands the narrative beyond Silicon Valley, describing how OpenAI reproduces colonial patterns:
Exploitation of invisible workers
- In Kenya, outsourced content moderators earn $2/hour to clean violent or pornographic datasets, essential for training ChatGPT. Some develop severe psychiatric disorders 11.
- In Venezuela, “microtaskers” label data without knowing its purpose, in precarious conditions 11.
Pillaging of natural resources
- OpenAI’s data centers consume enormous quantities of water and energy. In Chile, a data center project threatens the water reserves of local communities already facing drought 11.
- A University of California study estimates that AI-related pollution caused 490 deaths in the United States in 2023, with health costs exceeding $7.6 billion 4.
Cultural hegemony
- The OpenAI for Countries program, presented as a tool for “digital sovereignty,” imposes American standards on countries like Nigeria and Indonesia. Data remains controlled from San Francisco 3 9.
AI imperialism: a radical critique
Hao compares OpenAI to colonial empires, highlighting three key mechanisms:
- Resource extraction : Data, energy, labor.
- Civilizing narrative : Promise of a bright future through AGI (artificial general intelligence), masking human costs.
- Moral superiority : Altman positions himself as a guardian against “bad actors” (China, Google), justifying a frenzied race 9 11.
“AI does not ‘benefit humanity’ – it consolidates power for a techno-capitalist elite,” Hao asserts in an interview 9.
Resistance: alternatives and mobilizations
The book highlights protest initiatives:
- DAIR Institute : Founded by Timnit Gebru, former Google researcher, this laboratory promotes decentralized and ethical AI.
- Artists and writers : Collectives file lawsuits against OpenAI for unauthorized use of their works 11.
- Whistleblowers : In June 2025, nine OpenAI employees publicly denounce the risks of uncontrolled AGI and the culture of secrecy 6.
Conclusion: a call to dismantle the empire
For Hao, the urgent need is to “democratize AI” by:
- Regulating tech monopolies.
- Supporting open-source and community-based models.
- Demanding transparency on data and energy consumption.
Empire of AI does more than recount OpenAI’s rise – it offers an essential framework for understanding the political and ethical battles of the AI era.
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