I read this as: I know ads are likely if not inevitable but I can’t say that while I’m trying to gain users and inspire trust but I’ll start to float even in this non-denial the justification for the thing I’m ultimately going to do.
See it as a brand image advertising campaign of the time.
Most billionaires are idealists when it comes to this one particular ideal.
In this sense I think Altman is an idealist, he concerns himself primarily with ideas, not so much with material reality.
AGI is not.
There is (still) a lot of profit to be made on half-baked semi-AGI prospects.
In the 'short' and current term there is still lots of money to be made in fuel indeed, but advancements in fossil free energy could make a real shift.