The people building the future of artificial intelligence don’t always agree, but when it comes to one deeply human question, their answers are consistent: Yes, you should still have kids.
In a new documentary called “The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist,” directors Daniel Roher and Charlie Tyrell asked some of the most recognizable CEOs in the AI race whether it is still safe to bring children into this world.
“I think it’s a great time to have a kid. We’ll probably have another kid at some point,” Anthropic’s president and cofounder, Daniela Amodei, tells the filmmakers. Amodei has one son, Galileo, according to a blog post from Stripe, where she worked for over five years.
As major tech companies pour billions into building increasingly powerful systems that could one day surpass human intelligence, questions about the risks they may pose — especially to future generations — are prevalent.
Researchers leading AI development have warned of existential risks, including the possibility that advanced systems could pursue goals misaligned with human interests if left unchecked. The technology’s impact on jobs is also a major concern for many parents.
For OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, the answer is also a yes.
He said parenthood is “this momentous thing” that feels both exciting and overwhelming. “I stay up every night reading these books about how to raise a kid, and I hope I’m going to do a good job,” he says in the film. He also said he’s not worried about kids growing up in a world with AI.
At the same time, Altman is blunt about what that world will look like. “Our kids will never be smarter than an AI” simply from a “raw IQ perspective,” he said.
Altman welcomed a son in February 2025, announcing in a post on X at the time that “he came early and is going to be in the nicu for awhile.” He added that “he is doing well, and it’s really nice to be in a little bubble taking care of him. i have never felt such love.”
Others struck a more philosophical tone in the film.
DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis emphasized the enduring value of human life itself. “I think it’s a wonderful idea to have kids. I think they’re the most magical, incredible thing,” he said. Hassabis has two sons in their late teens, The Guardian reported last year.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, meanwhile, said there are valid reasons to doubt having children.
“There’s so much uncertainty. I would almost just do what you’re going to do anyway,” he says in the film. “I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but it’s the only one I can come up with.”
Taken together, their answers reflect the same tension that runs through the broader AI debate. The future may be uncertain, and it may belong to machines in ways we don’t yet fully understand, but for now, the people shaping that future aren’t putting their lives on hold.
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