Claims

Factual · Their own work or organisation

“There is no nuclear facility.”

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, interview answer · 18 March 2024 · Transcript for Sam Altman: OpenAI, GPT-5, Sora, Board Saga, Elon Musk, Ilya, Power & AGI (Lex Fridman)

Asked whether OpenAI's compute was in the same nuclear facility, Altman said there is no nuclear facility.

Mostly true True in substance, wrong in a detail.

The second judge would not resolve this claim; the verdict shown is the first judge's.

Said for an organisation they lead or work for; it counts on both records.

What would count as true or false

Judge as of 2024-03-18. True: as of that date, OpenAI had no nuclear facility (no nuclear power plant, reactor or secret nuclear site) that it owned, operated or was building for its compute or data centres. Mostly true: no OpenAI nuclear facility existed, but there were unrelated or indirect links (e.g., Altman's personal investments in nuclear companies such as Oklo or Helion, which are not OpenAI facilities). Mostly false: OpenAI had a concrete agreement or project for a dedicated nuclear facility tied to its compute, though not yet built. False: OpenAI did have or operate a nuclear facility at that time.

Evidence

1. On Lex Fridman's Second Podcast with Altman — LessWrong LessWrong (personal blog post by Zvi Mowshowitz, 'Don't Worry About the Vase') · 25 March 2024

   “Also says no secret nuclear facility, but it would be nice.”

2. On Lex Fridman's Second Podcast with Altman — LessWrong LessWrong (personal blog post by Zvi Mowshowitz, 'Don't Worry About the Vase') · 25 March 2024

   “Still believes in fusion, and fission.”

3. On Lex Fridman’s Second Podcast with Altman LessWrong (post by Zvi, 'Don't Worry About the Vase') · 25 March 2024

   “Also says no secret nuclear facility, but it would be nice.”

4. The AI industry is pushing a nuclear power revival — partly to fuel itself NBC News · 7 March 2024

   “In rural southeastern Idaho, Oklo is working to build a small-scale nuclear powerhouse that could fuel data centers like the ones OpenAI and its competitors need.”

5. AI bigwigs want to go all-in on nuclear. They also happen to be behind nuclear companies | CNN Business CNN · 24 December 2024

   “No, it’s not OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company he co-founded and now runs as CEO.”

6. Who’s got enough power for OpenAI’s 5-gigawatt data center plans? | Fortune Fortune · 27 September 2024

   “To support its ambitions to develop AI systems that would be as intelligent as people, OpenAI wants the U.S. government to help streamline the construction of massive data centers that would suck up as much power as major American cities.”

7. ChatGPT’s boss claims nuclear fusion is the answer to AI’s soaring energy needs. Experts say not so fast | CNN CNN · 26 March 2024

   “Altman himself has invested hundreds of millions in fusion and in recent interviews has suggested the futuristic technology, widely seen as the holy grail of clean energy, will eventually provide the enormous amounts of power demanded by next-gen AI.”

Reasoning

None of the independent coverage from around and after 2024-03-18 describes a nuclear facility that OpenAI owned, operated or was building. Instead, it ties nuclear projects to Altman's personal ventures. E4 describes Oklo building a small reactor in Idaho that "could fuel data centers like the ones OpenAI ... need[s]". E5 distinguishes a nuclear company linked to Altman from OpenAI ("not OpenAI"), and E7 refers to Altman's personal investments in fusion. These links are indirect and unrelated to any OpenAI facility, which fits the "mostly true" criterion; E1 records Altman's denial only as a summary of his own words.

Cite this claim

Sam Altman, “Asked whether OpenAI's compute was in the same nuclear facility, Altman said there is no nuclear facility.” (said 18 March 2024). Verdict: mostly true. Reliability API, claim c_cfa255d39401, method 0.1.0+c876030c. https://epistacklabs.com/claims/c_cfa255d39401