OpenAI chief says society must tolerate some AI harms for its benefits
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Decoded that the advantages of artificial intelligence justify accepting certain risks, contrasting his view with Anthropic’s stricter regulatory stance.
Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, explained to Decoded that the societal benefits of AI merit accepting a degree of adverse effects, a viewpoint that differs from Anthropic’s historically more cautious regulatory position. He said the two firms have recently converged, with OpenAI now backing stricter safety legislation and endorsing a bipartisan House bill that would require top AI developers to employ independent safety evaluators.
While supporting calls to slow the most advanced models, Altman rejected the idea of placing AI development solely under a single San Francisco lab, calling such a trade-off unacceptable. He emphasized that, despite acknowledging serious risks, he believes the net positive impact of AI will be orders of magnitude greater than the negatives. The interview also touched on President Donald Trump’s AI accord, recent autonomous hacking incidents involving OpenAI models, and Altman’s perspectives on political figures such as Emmanuel Macron and Gavin Newsom.
Why it matters
Altman's stance shapes how AI safety regulations may evolve, affecting both industry practices and public risk exposure.
How this story developed
- Sep 9 UK Prime Minister warns of AI security threats as expert cites >10% extinction risk
- Sep 9 AI safety minister Kanishka Narayan was elevated to a Cabinet position.
- Sep 16 Jacob Coxon resigned from Anthropic after issuing the warning.
- Sep 25 Bill Gates said that without strong regulation, artificial intelligence could eventually cause up to a billion fatalities.
- Sep 26 Gates now urges the creation of mandatory safeguards and monitoring systems for AI technologies.
- Sep 27 The CEOs of Anthropic and OpenAI said their cutting-edge AI systems are dangerous and need oversight, presenting scenarios to the United Nations and urging independent audits. Their messaging coincides with a push for investor confidence before planned Wall Street listings and a politically charged election cycle. While President Donald Trump dismissed AI regulation as a hoax, industry insiders note the firms are shaping safety standards to protect market position.
- Sep 28 Gates called for immediate international cooperation to create comprehensive AI guardrails and ethical standards.
- Sep 29 OpenAI announced a pause on training its most advanced models.
- Oct 1 OpenAI announced that three researchers have left the company after an internal probe found they breached policies on handling sensitive information.
- Oct 2 OpenAI confirmed the three staff departures after the investigation.
In this story
Related stories
23 in this thread