Given the gravity of Sam Altman's position at the helm of the company leading the development of an artificial superintelligence which it does not yet know how to align -- to imbue with morality and ethics -- I feel Annie's claims warrant a far greater level of investigation than they've received thus far.
Then there's a bit of shortage of something public... and ratsphere-adjacent... maybe prediction markets?
I can create (subsidize) a few, given resolution criteria.
Previous posts (which you should read first)
This post is the 10th post in a series of 11 posts about the claims of Sam Altman's sister, Annie Altman. Annie has claimed that Sam sexually abused her for about 9 years as a child, and that she experienced further (non-sexual) abuse from Sam, her brothers, and her mother after that.
The 11 posts are meant to be read in order.
So, if you haven't read the first 10 posts, please read them, in order, before you read this post:
Have Sam or his other family members responded to these claims?
On January 7, 2025, Sam Altman made a post on X (formerly Twitter), providing a statement from his mother, his brothers, and him.
Prior to January 7, 2025, the following responses were provided by members of the Altman family:
From Sam Altman is the Oppenheimer of Our Age by Elizabeth Weil (published September 25, 2023) --
"The Altman family would like the world to know: “We love Annie and will continue our best efforts to support and protect her, as any family would.""
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From OpenAI Part 4: Heaven and Hell, Part 2 from Bloomberg's the Foundering podcast (published June 20, 2024):
Ellen Huet (host of the podcast): "We reached out to Sam his siblings, and his mom for comment in this episode. His mom, Connie Gibstine, responded with this statement:"
Connie Gibstine: "We love Annie and are very concerned about her well being. Over the years, we have offered her financial support and help and continued to offer it today. Navigating the balance between providing support without enabling self destructive behavior for a family member with mental health struggles is extraordinarily difficult. We only want the best for Annie and hope everyone will treat her with compassion."
My Perspective
Opening Comments
Note: the situation has changed greatly since I first made this post back in October 2023, and I presume the situation will continue to change as the lawsuit progresses. I'll try to keep these posts updated, but parts of my perspective may be outdated depending on when you read them.
How to interpret these claims?
Things I find Questionable/Unexplained
Annie claims her grandmother saw {Annie's brothers?} playing "dwarf tossing" with Annie's baby body, and condemned it. Did Annie's grandmother ever tell Jerry about this? Did Jerry or Connie ever witness this behavior? If so, how did they respond to it?
At what age did Sam develop vocal fry? Was the onset gradual, or sudden? Was it precipitated by a traumatic event that Sam experienced?
(Vocal fry can develop as a result of trauma. See: Vocal Fry: Defining a Common Language Register -- verywellhealth.com.)
If Sam molested Annie, what caused this highly abnormal behavior? Was it genetic factors, e.g. those encoding psychopathy, anti-social disorder, or related traits? Or might it have been learned behavior? Or was it perhaps downstream of a traumatic experience that Sam himself went through?
If Connie did indeed tell Annie to keep quiet about the sexual abuse she experienced from Sam -- why? Such a response is not normal. Why exactly did Connie not want Annie to speak about this? What motives did she have for having Annie not tell other people about getting molested by Sam?
Annie claims that, around ~2016-2018, before he died, Jerry was working overtime, commuting between St. Louis and Kansas city, with a heart condition, because he needed the money. But I am a bit confused -- Jerry was a lawyer, and Connie was a dermatologist. Both of those professions pay relatively well. Both Jack and Annie attended John Burroughs School, a private school (for grades 7-12) that currently charges students a staggering $36,300 per year in tuition. Though I can imagine ways in which it could be possible, I still wonder why exactly Jerry didn't have enough money to retire, and why Jerry needed to work overtime for money all the way up until he died at age 67.
Jerry sent Annie a text message in January 2018, part of which read "I don't just support your lifestyle now or your physical and emotional endeavors now; I support your life. I will always support your life. These are aspects of your life, so I support those too." What was the other part of this text message? What prompted Jerry to say this to Annie?
Annie has noted that Connie and her brothers were not as supportive of her career transition (away from a pre-med track and into yoga and more creative & artistic pursuits) after she graduated college, though Jerry was supportive. Is this related?
Jerry had a known heart condition. Why was he rowing on Creve Coeur Lake just before he died at age 67? Wouldn't he have known that this would have put him at risk for heart-related problems, e.g. a heart attack?
How much did Jerry Altman know? Did he know anything?
Jerry was in the same household with Sam, Jack, Max, and Connie for many years. I think it's unlikely that he would have been completely ignorant of, at minimum, the various mental health issues that Annie experienced beginning in early childhood.
Some specific examples:
- Annie told Elizabeth Weil that she was thinking of suicide by age 5, and getting up in the middle of the night needing to take baths to calm her anxiety. Was 5-year-old Annie able to fill up the bath & take a bath unassisted? Or was there a family member who would help her? If so -- who was that family member? Did Jerry ever see this happen?
- On May 28, 2018 (3 years before Annie publicly acused Sam of molesting her), Annie wrote that her and Jerry were "always very close, talking about all the feels, all the music, and all the athletic activities." This seems especially notable to me. In light of this, I think it's extremely likely that Jerry was well-aware of Annie's various mental health problems. Additionally -- note that Annie said that her and Jerry were "always" very close. It seems Annie told Elizabeth Weil that, at age 5, she began waking up in the middle of the night, needing to take baths to calm her anxiety [EW23a], and then by age 6, she was thinking about suicide, even though she didn't know the word. From [AA19c], it seems that Annie was about 7 when she began to criticize her appearance. If Jerry and Annie were "always" close, then it seems pretty likely to me that Jerry would have known about some of this. Additionally, Jerry likely witnessed his son Jack being a "tired" kid, falling asleep face-first in his mac-and-cheese at dinner. So, more questions: was Jerry, a lawyer, ever suspicious of the abnormal behavior he observed in two of his children (Jack, Annie)? Did he ever suspect that something was awry? Did he ever suspect anything of his oldest child, Sam? Did he ever witness abusive behavior from Sam?
As I stated earlier in the timeline -- I find it hard to reconcile the different stories Annie and Sam tell about their Dad's death? I'll copy-paste what I wrote above in the timeline here, regarding my confusion:
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Note: In my opinion, Annie and Sam tell stories about their dad's death that, to me, seem rather different and hard to reconcile --
Annie says:
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Surely retiring the father you claimed closeness with was more valuable than a watch????????
If our Dad had his needs taken care of, I would have supported multiple fancy watches" [AA24m]
Sam's wristwatches:
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Sam can be seen wearing {what seems likely to be} his Greubel Forsey Invention Piece 1 in "WIRED25: Sebastian Thrun & Sam Altman Talk Flying Vehicles and Artificial Intelligence", published 10/16/2018:
You can make out the distinctive "moonphase window" [SW22a] (annotated in green, where I've traced segments along the boundary of the moonphase window itself in red), calendar info with the day and month (annotated in orange), the pure 18k yellow gold [SW22a] crown (annotated in blue), along with three of the watch's golden numerals: 12 (at the top of the dial just above the calendar info, annotated in grey), 2 (annotated in light/aqua blue), and 4 (annotated in pink).
Sam says:
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If was Sam Altman was completely fine with posting a link to Annie's Youtube channel on Twitter on Feb 2, 2018, why did he (and Jack Altman) refuse to post a link to the podcast episode he filmed with Annie on Dec 7, 2018 on the basis that it "didn't align with {his} businesses", as Annie claimed to Elizabeth Weil?
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In the legal (probate) case (case number: 18SL-PR01960) relating to Jerry's Will and Estate had (opened 06/12/2018), a "Proof of Mailing" was submitted on 07/09/2018.
In my (amateur) understanding, this means that Annie should have received a notice in the mail from the court clerk notifying her that her mother (Connie) had been appointed as the legal representative for the legal (probate) case regarding Jerry's will and estate.
In light of this, I'm surprised that Annie, one of her father Jerry's legal heirs, only met Pete for the first time around 09/22/2019 (see the email that Sam Altman sent to Pete Palumbo and Annie Altman the Timeline above), so long after her father's death. Why was it that Sam both knew Pete before Annie did? Furthermore, Pete was working attorney for as Connie (the personal representative) as of 06/12/2018. Thus, at minimum, Connie knew Pete for over 1 year and 3 months before Sam sent the email instructing Pete to "meet" Annie on 09/22/2019. Why did Connie know Pete for so long, but (as it seems to me) never introduce Annie to him/tell Annie about him? Annie was an heir of Jerry's just like Sam was. Why was Sam in contact with Pete before Annie was? Why was Sam the one making the introduction? Shouldn't Pete have reached out to Annie himself, given that she was one of Jerry's legal heirs?
Annie notes that a passport was stolen from her mail around the time she started her podcast. The first episode of Annie's podcast came out on 08/14/2018. Hmm. Was Annie's passport the only thing stolen from Annie's mail around that time, or were other items stolen as well? Was the legally-required information regarding the legal (probate) case relating to Jerry's death/Will/Estate indeed mailed to Annie as legally required, only for it to be stolen out of Annie's mail? Who might have had a motive to steal such a thing from Annie's mail?I think I may accidentally have assigned a date to Annie getting her passport stolen that wasn't accurate. For now, I maintain that I don't know exactly when Annie's passport got stolen. Sorry for my mistake there. Quote from Annie:
"I had to get my passport renewed, and then it got stolen in the mail" [RE23a]
Why was the judge for the legal (probate) case regarding Jerry's Will and Estate reassigned twice (for a total of three different judges), within the span of 18 days? And why was the judge then reassigned again, for the third time, on May 19, 2020?
Annie references a variety of things in Email about my Dad’s Trust [AA24a] (which is addressed to Annie's "mother's laywer" [AA24a], who I think is Pete Palumbo), including things that her short-term lawyer mentioned, that I don't fully understand:
-- something related to Hydrazine?
-- something related to "a fund of my siblings', and one of my Dad's buildings with my-Dad's-old-boss" [AA24a]?
-- divisions of {Jerry's Trust, which was established per his Will}?
-- delayment of the funding of Jerry's Trust?
-- Jerry's Trust now being funded, even though Pete Palumbo previously said it couldn't be funded?
-- why did Annie only learn that she could "make an as of the Trust with a monthly budget" [AA24a] after Annie's short-term lawyer talked to Pete Palumbo?
-- why was Anie not contacted about "the potential to request a non-prejudicial lump sum in accordance with my wishes" [AA24a]?
-- Annie writes, "The Trust makes it clear that my Dad's wish was for me to have been supported in tese six years since his death. In the absence of the support intended for me in my Dad’s Trust, I’ve experienced two and a half years of houseless and homelessness and daily PTSD flashbacks, and I’ve had to resort to survival sex work to support myself financially while still navigating physical illnesses." [AA24a].
Why was the fufillment of Jerry's wishes collectively blocked by Sam Altman, Connie Gibstine, and Pete Palumbo?
Why has it taken over 6 years for Jerry's estate to be administered? Why has Pete Palumbo repeatedly filed for extensions?
I thought that Jerry was working overtime up until his death until he died. But his personal property was valued at $727,107.49 less than 5 months after his death (and is now valued at over 1 million dollars.) This should have been enough money for Jerry to retire on. So why was Jerry still working?
Also -- what is this "personal property" of Jerry's? Where did it come from?
Note: I wrote this question before the lawsuit was filed. There has been media coverage about the lawsuit.
Annie has been speaking out about Sam for roughly 3 years now. In 2021, she made her claims quite clear on her X account. I am confused as to why there has been basically 0 coverage of her claims in the media? In general, why is Annie so absent in anything related to Sam Altman on the Internet, especially considering the nature of her relationship with Sam?
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Why, as some commenters on Hacker News claim, has a post regarding Annie's claims that Sam sexually assaulted her at age 4 been repeatedly removed?
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Sam returned to his high school, John Burroughs School (JBS), on October 14, 2023. On November 22, 2023, Annie wrote "At one point recently a high school faculty member, from our same school {John Burroughs School}, spoke with me and attempted to convince me to break no contact." Did Sam return to JBS on October 14, 2023 so he could speak with a faculty member who knew both him and Annie and convince them to reach out to Annie to try to get him to break no contact?
Some Twitter post's of Annie's were rediscovered around October 4, 2023. I published (the first version of) this post on October 7, 2023. Did these factors motivate Sam's return to JBS, and his attempts to get Anine to break no contact using a JBS faculty member as a middleman?
If Sam did use a JBS faculty member as a middleman to try to get Annie to start talking to him again, who was that faculty member? Was there a reason in particular that Sam chose that faculty member? What does that faculty member know about Sam? What does that faculty member know about Annie?
What exactly is the nature of Sam's relationship to JBS, and specific members of its faculty? Why exactly has Sam returned to JBS numerous times? Is there a member of the JBS faculty who knows something important about Sam and/or Annie?
Anticipating and Responding to Potential Objections
I initially hesitated to make this post, because I was initially skeptical of Annie's claims. However, I changed my mind -- I think there is a nonzero probability that Annie is telling the truth, in whole or in part, and thus believe her claims ought to receive greater attention and further investigation.
Assuming that my personal understanding of Annie's story, as presented above, is correct, Annie's behavior potentially makes sense.
So -- assuming my understanding is correct, I provide the following responses to (potential) objections regarding (the validity of) Annie's claims:
Responding to Objections/Comments I've Seen From Others
It's been some time since I originally made my post, and I've seen a lot of comments, objections, and feedback from others. I"ll try to respond to some here.
Kat Woods: "She only started accusing Sam after she wanted money and didn’t get it. She disputed the inheritance from a trust fund she felt she was owed after her father died. She blamed her family and started publicly attacking them, including Sam."
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Kat Woods: "- The accusation is based on “repressed memories” from when she was 4 that she “didn’t remember until she was 26” - right after she wanted her inheritance and was told she’d get it in monthly installments instead of a lump sum. She refused the conditions then went around saying she’d been denied her inheritance."
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Concluding Remarks
To be clear, in this post, I am not definitively stating that I believe Annie's claims. Annie, to the best of my knowledge, has not provided direct proof - the sort that would be usable in court - of the claims she's made of Sam Altman.
I currently hold that I do not know if Annie's claims are true or not, though I will note that her online activity have been self-consistent over a long period of time, and seems to match up with activity from Sam in a few places (e.g. in the podcast episode she recorded with him.) I currently cannot disprove Sam Altman's innocence, as I do not think I can say that he has been proven guilty.
Rather, as previously stated, I am hoping to draw attention to a body of information that I think warrants further investigation, as I think that there is a nonzero probability that Annie is telling the truth, in whole or in part, and that this must be taken extremely seriously in light of the gravity of the claims she is making and the position of the person about whom she is making them.
Given the gravity of Sam Altman's position at the helm of the company leading the development of an artificial superintelligence which it does not yet know how to align -- to imbue with morality and ethics -- I feel Annie's claims warrant a far greater level of investigation than they've received thus far.
I made an account on X (Twitter) (to reach out to Annie & Sam)
{In October 2023:} I made an X account (formerly "@prometheus5105", now "@pythagoras5015" -- I changed it for the reasons I provided here) where I responded to a recent post of Annie's (on X) asking her to confirm/deny the accuracy of my post.![]()
Unfortunately, within minutes of creating my account, I received the following message:
So, for now, my account is going to look suspicious, following only 1 account. Sorry.
Disclaimer
I have tried my best to meet the writing standards of this website, and to incorporate the advice given in the New User Guide. I apologize in advance for any shortcomings in my writing, and am very much open to feedback and commentary.
Next post
As noted at the beginning of this post, this post is the 10th post in a series of 11 posts that are meant to be read in order.
Now that you've read this post, you should read the 11th post ("Part 11") next:
Sam Altman's sister claims Sam sexually abused her -- Part 11: List of Annie's online accounts, references