Burning Man attracts tech moguls, celebrities, and models to the Black Rock Desert, where attendees use costumes and nicknames to maintain anonymity. Executives and tech elites attend for creative stimulus beyond partying, and some credit the event with inspiring investments, philanthropy, and company formation. OpenAI founder Sam Altman attended multiple times and described the event as a glimpse of a world after artificial general intelligence, where people focus on mutual care and gifting. Jeffrey Katzenberg invested in a drone business after witnessing a 2022 drone show by Kimbal Musk during Burning Man and seeking to learn who created the display.
For some tech leaders, Burning Man is better than a boardroom. Over the years, the arts festival has become a stomping ground for tech moguls, celebrities, and models who want to spend a few days in the Black Rock Desert. Burning Man attendees encourage some level of anonymity, with costumes and nicknames that give public figures the privacy to party among their fellow Burners.
OpenAI founder Sam Altman, who once criticized Burning Man, has attended multiple times. He said the event showed him what the world could look like after artificial general intelligence - AI that is capable of matching or surpassing human intelligence - is achieved. "Where people are just focused on doing stuff for each other, caring for each other, and making incredible gifts to give each other," he said on an episode of the "Life in Seven Songs" podcast.
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