OpenAI boss Confirms world 'right to be afraid' but should trust AI firms

The boss of ChatGPT maker Open AI. Sam Altman, has shared that people should have more faith in his firm and others like it to do the right thing when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) development amid rising public concerns about the risks.

"The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it's the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this," Altman said on Tuesday during a conference in San Francisco.

However Altman Noted That People

However, Altman noted that people were justified in their fears around AI, as the capability of the tools has progressed rapidly. Speaking in Washington meanwhile, left-wing Senator Bernie Sanders and former Trump adviser Steve Bannon have both called for greater governance of AI.

Altman's comments came during an appearance at an annual conference hosted by software firm Salesforce. "It doesn't take as much imagination as it used to for [us] to imagine how this could go wrong," he said. "reports suggest the world is right to be afraid of this."

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First Time Spoken Publicly Since

It was the first time he had spoken publicly since a post went viral last week by a researcher who quit the AI firm Anthropic. The researcher said AI could kill all humans by the end of the decade if left unchecked.

A handful of other AI executives and experts responded by saying they agreed with the assessment. Though they didn't explain how they came to their conclusions or how exactly AI could accomplish such a thing. The fervour over the claims has led to more investigation of AI development in recent days.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called for the pace of all AI development to slow. External and urged governments to regulate the industry. The post was applauded by Altman, as well as co-founder of Google's DeepMind Demis Hassabis, and Elon Musk, owner of social media site X and AI assistant Grok.

Altman said that he felt AI companies like his own were capable of essentially regulating themselves. "We will get it right, I'm very confident in our company's and industry's ability to do this safely," Altman said, adding that he was sure that they would "keep alignment and safety way ahead of capabilities" and if they couldn't, they would "slow down or stop".

However, not everyone shares Altman's optimism. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon cast doubt on the tech industry's ability to self regulate. "We can never trust what an oligarch says because...

they're disingenuous and they lie," Bannon said at the same conference.

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Mark Zuckerberg, Meta boss, wrote on X that every AI lab has the ability and the incentive "to take its own actions" towards making AI tools and models that are designed for safety. "Any lab that doesn't focus on alignment will fall behind," Zuckerberg wrote.

Jensen Huang, head of Nvidia, also said at the same Tuesday conference that the AI firms should decide if new versions of the technology should be released and not be managed by outside forces. "We don't need new laws or regulations," Huang said.

Despite the assurances, political figures have cautioned against self-regulation. Bernie Sanders, an independent senator from Vermont who votes with the Democrats, said decisions over AI's development have been made by "a handful of the richest people in the world", naming Elon Musk, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, among others.

Altman's comments sparked a debate on whether the industry can regulate itself effectively. Industry leaders have expressed skepticism about the ability of companies to self-regulate. Meanwhile, others believe that it is possible with proper oversight and guidelines.

The future of AI regulation remains uncertain. With the rise of public concerns about the risks of AI, there is growing pressure on governments to take action. However, industry leaders are urging caution against over-regulation, arguing that it could stifle innovation and slow down progress.