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OpenAI CEO Altman Defends AI Risks for Benefits
Confirmed
In Short: OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said the benefits of artificial intelligence justify accepting some risks, arguing the technology should remain broadly accessible to the public.
Altman said there remains a fundamental difference in worldview between OpenAI and rival Anthropic on AI regulation, noting, 'I think there’s a lot of daylight.'
He called it 'a completely unacceptable trade-off' to restrict AI to a single lab, emphasizing the need for a 'lighter-touch regulatory stance.'
Altman told Fortune that OpenAI won’t go public this year, focusing instead on addressing safety concerns. He said, 'I think it is unacceptable to be taking like a 10% chance of killing everybody by the end of the decade.'
OpenAI is delaying its IPO to prioritize safety concerns surrounding artificial intelligence technology, as indicated by CEO Sam Altman. He expressed that the risks associated with AI could be significant, stating a 10% chance of catastrophic outcomes is unacceptable.
Anxiety about a potential existential threat posed by AI has entered the mainstream, driven by this week’s high-profile resignation of an Anthropic researcher over fears that his company was acting irresponsibly and that AI could 'kill us all by the end of the decade.'
Altman told Fortune, 'I think a key principle that we should all agree on is that we cannot take actions that would risk losing control of the future to AI.'
He hinted at potential coordination among leading AI companies, including Anthropic and Google DeepMind, to address safety risks and possibly slow down AI development.
Altman’s remarks come amid a growing debate within the AI industry over the pace of development and the risks posed by increasingly capable systems.
What this adds
Sam Altman expressed that the risks associated with AI could be significant, stating a 10% chance of catastrophic outcomes is unacceptable, necessitating more safety work before advancing capabilities.
OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO in June, though it has said the timing for the listing remained undecided.
Dario Amodei's call for a slowdown stemmed from rising concerns about AI misuse and the potential risks to humans, highlighted by alarming incidents and internal resignations at AI firms.
Background
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told CNBC that the company will not go public until it can ensure the safety of its AI models.
What's confirmed
- (Bloomberg) -- OpenAI won’t go public in this year as the artificial intelligence company focuses on addressing safety-related concerns around the technology, Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman told Fortune in an interview.
- Altman said this year would be an “ill-advised moment” for initial public offering and that a listing won’t take place until next year, according to a video of Fortune’s interview published on Saturday.
- “I think it is unacceptable to be taking like a 10% chance of killing everybody by the end of the decade,” Altman said.
- A current Anthropic employee said the possibility of such an outcome is “>10% within the next decade” in a post on X.
- “I think a key principle that we should all agree on is that we cannot take actions that would risk losing control of the future to AI,” Altman told Fortune.
- OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO in June, though it has said the timing for the listing remained undecided.
- The comments come as Altman, Anthropic PBC CEO Dario Amodei and xAI Corp.
What's still developing
- “I disagree, but I understand the perspective of people who are like, ‘This technology is going to get so powerful, and it’s so dangerous, that a single lab in San Francisco should have it and make sure nothing bad happens, and kind of figure out how to dole out the benefits,'” Altman said.
- “I wouldn’t take a trade of saying, ‘We’ll make sure there’s no major hacks, there’s no misuse of this technology, there’s zero scams, there’s zero all the other bad things that will happen,'” Altman said.
- Dario Amodei's call for a slowdown stemmed from rising concerns about AI misuse and the potential risks to humans, highlighted by alarming incidents and internal resignations at AI firms.