'It's Very Hard For Me To Work In Silence': Sam Altman Shares His Work Music With Bill Gates

In the latest installment of Bill Gates’ “Unconfuse Me” podcast, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, disclosed his favorite tunes that enhance his productivity.

What Happened: During the podcast, which was shared on YouTube, Gates inquired about Altman’s preferred music while working. The OpenAI CEO divulged that he enjoys instrumental music, notably “The New Four Seasons – Vivaldi Recomposed” by Max Richter.

Altman, who heads the artificial intelligence lab, elucidated his selection saying that he enjoys the familiarity of Vivaldi’s pieces but also appreciates the additional notes from Richter’s recomposition. 

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He went on to say that this music served as his perpetual companion during OpenAI’s initial stages.

"I like music with no words for working. This had the old comfort of Vivaldi and pieces I knew really well, but enough new notes that it was just a totally different experience," he said.

Adding, "There are pieces of music that you form these strong emotional attachments to, because you listened to them a lot in a key period of your life. This was something that I listened to a lot while we were starting OpenAI. I think it's very beautiful music."

Upon Gates’ query about whether he uses headphones while listening, Altman confirmed that he does, mentioning that he finds it difficult to work in silence. "It's very hard for me to work in silence. I can do it, but it's not my natural state."

Altman’s inclination for instrumental music while working parallels Gates’ own views. Gates expressed that he also finds songs with words distracting.

Why It Matters: The past few months have been tumultuous for Altman. The OpenAI CEO was fired and later reinstated in his position amid rumors and allegations of AI safety neglect. 

Later it was reported that the Altman-led startup is in early talks to raise new funds at a valuation of at least $100 billion.

Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Altman refuted the need for extensive training data from publishers such as The New York Times Co. after the AI startup got embroiled in a copyright infringement lawsuit with the media company.

Image Credits – Shutterstock

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This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.