A video clip featuring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is going viral on X (formerly Twitter) about what the future of artificial intelligence could look like. In the video, Altman outlines his vision for AI — placing it at the same level as utilities like electricity or water.
“We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a metre,” Altman says during the conversation in the video, which was posted by X user Chief Nerd. In the video, Altman can be seen explaining that people will access advanced intelligence on demand, purchasing it as needed rather than requiring constant always-on availability.
🚨 SAM ALTMAN: “We see a future where intelligence is a utility, like electricity or water, and people buy it from us on a meter.” pic.twitter.com/KuoMDp1upQ
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) March 12, 2026
This metered approach could help manage limited computational resources during periods of high demand and limited supply. He added that OpenAI's business, and that of other AI model providers, will look like “selling tokens” (a measure of processed text or data).
The comments sparked a range of reactions online, with many voicing concerns and criticism.
One user wrote on X: “Honestly this sounds like the beginning of a black mirror episode... ‘intelligence as a utility' is just fancy talk for ‘we're gonna charge you to think.”
honestly this sounds like the beginning of a black mirror episode... "intelligence as a utility" is just fancy talk for "we're gonna charge you to think pic.twitter.com/4cskmUf5nn
— Dhiran (@dhiran_dev) March 12, 2026
“Other AI leaders such as Andrew Ng, Dennis Hassabis from Google, Dario Amodei from Anthropic, or Yankees LeCun from AMI, ex-Mets all agree that AI should not be paid for as utility like electricity or water,” replied another user to the posted video.
“The metered future is coming. The question isn't how much intelligence you buy. It's whether you have the structure to use it once it arrives,” yet another user wrote, also underlining that “just like electricity and water, most people will leave it running all day and wonder why they're not getting any value from it.”
Cool. And just like electricity and water, most people will leave it running all day and wonder why they're not getting any value from it.
— Quiet Operator (@quietoperatorl) March 12, 2026
Intelligence as a utility only works if the person using it knows what to do with it. You can pipe unlimited electricity into a house. If…
The video amplified ongoing debates about AI's societal role while reinforcing “the intelligence utility” model associated with OpenAI. Altman has also reportedly said in the past that “the cost of intelligence should eventually converge to near the cost of electricity.”
Also read: Perplexity Personal Computer' AI Agent Is Like Digital Proxy' Of Users: What's New?
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