OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Samsung executives he wants the companies to work closely on a next-generation AI device, according to a November 11 report by South Korea’s Financial News, cited by IT Home. The reported proposal is not an announcement of a joint product.
Altman spoke at a discussion held on October 31 at Samsung’s human resources development center in Yongin, South Korea. Asked what kind of device could become an AI companion, he described it as “the next version of the smartphone.” In his view, such a device would move away from conventional apps: AI would gather information and help manage users’ digital and physical lives while interrupting them as little as possible. He also said that privacy and the risk of overreliance on AI would require broader societal attention.
On AI glasses, Altman said they could offer substantial productivity benefits, but questioned their social experience. A person wearing a camera while talking to someone else, he noted, could make the other person uncomfortable.
Altman also urged companies to redesign workflows around AI rather than use it only to help employees do existing tasks. He estimated that assistance could raise productivity two- to threefold, while handing entire workflows to AI could yield a 100-fold increase. Those figures were his projections, not reported measured results. He said OpenAI had begun introducing AI across its internal work and services about three months earlier, and described its coding agent Codex as sometimes asking people requesting additional staff to explain why AI could not do the work.
Altman warned that companies without basic AI capabilities could struggle to remain competitive in three to five years. According to IT Home, about 50 executives from Samsung affiliates in electronics, finance and biotechnology attended the discussion, which was intended to strengthen the strategic judgment and execution of leaders responsible for Samsung’s AI transformation. Attendees also asked about barriers to AI adoption at scale and how companies could manage profitability pressures while continuing to invest.