The Impact of Fatherhood: A Tech CEO's Experience

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Says He Was "Neurochemically Hacked"...

After Open AI CEO Sam Altman and his husband Oliver Louis Mulherin welcomed their first baby in February, the tech businessman admitted he felt “neurochemically hacked” by his infant. Fatherhood has completely changed Sam Altman. In fact, the OpenAI CEO admitted as much when attempting to describe what it was like for him and his husband Oliver Louis Mulherin to welcome their first baby, a little boy, earlier this year.

“I don’t think I have anything non cliche to say here,” Altman admitted to Bloomberg in an interview published May 22. “It is the best, most amazing thing ever and it totally rewired all of my priorities.”

Changing Priorities and Perspectives

Indeed, Altman—who tied the knot with Mulherin last January—felt his brain chemistry literally shift. “It happened so fast,” the 40-year-old continued. “I remember in the first hour I felt this like, neurochemical change and it happened so fast. I was like, ‘Oh I get to observe this. I am being neurochemically hacked but I’m noticing it happening and I’m totally fine with it. This is great, but everything is going to be different now.”

Altman noted that those around him in the artificial intelligence sphere had predicted his relationship with his work would evolve after he became a dad. “A lot of people around me were like, ‘I’m happy you’re having a kid because I think you’ll make better decisions to whatever degree you have,’” Altman explained. “‘You’ve got to make decisions for humanity as a whole.’”

Life as a Dad

To that degree, though, Altman doesn’t believe he’s totally changed. “I really wanted to get it right before,” he said. “I did the best I could. I still really want to now. It’s somehow—yes, it feels like it’s different, but I can’t really articulate how.”

Of course, Altman isn’t the only public figure to detail how fatherhood changed his perspective. Bradley Cooper—who shares 7-year-old daughter Lea with ex Irina Shayk—previously shared that he didn’t believe he’d be alive today without his daughter, comparing her to a “massive anchor” in the “tsunami” of his life. “This is gonna dictate everything you do from now on," he said on Armchair Expert last February. “Your DNA is going to tell you that there's something more important than you.”

For more stars who’ve shared insight into life as a dad, keep reading…