OpenAI chief Sam Altman becomes the first to get Indonesia's 'Golden Visa'

Sam Altman's "Golden Visa" is for 10 years. The American entrepreneur is ex‐ pected to help grow the artificial intelli‐ gence ecosystem in Indonesia. The founder of OpenAI was in Indonesia ear‐ lier his year as part of a whirlwind tour that also took him to several major cities in Asia, including Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore.

Indonesia has awarded OpenAI Chief Ex‐ ecutive Sam Altman its first "Golden Visa" — a week after the program was launched to attract foreign investment to Southeast Asia's largest economy. "There are several categories of golden visas apart from those based on invest‐ ment/capital investment, one of which is the golden visa which is given to figures who have an international reputation and can provide benefits for Indonesia," Silmy Karim, Indonesia's director gener‐ al of immigration, said in a statement. "With this golden visa, the hope is that Altman can contribute towards the de‐ velopment and use of AI in Indonesia," Karim said.

Altman's Golden Visa is for 10 years. As a holder of the visa, the American entre‐ preneur will get to enjoy priority screening at airports across the coun‐ try's vast archipelago, along with longer periods of stay, and ease of entry and exit.

Altman, who co-founded ChatGPT maker OpenAI with Elon Musk, was in Indonesia earlier his year as part of a whirlwind tour that took him to several major cities in Asia, including Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul and Singapore. ChatGPT is the AI chatbot that has gone viral for its ability to generate human‐ like responses to users' prompts. Just two months after its launch, it hit 100 million users.

Altman and other tech leaders recently warned in an open letter that AI poses a human extinction risk on par with nu‐ clear war and stressed that reducing the risks associated with the technology should be a global priority.