'Some Harm Is an Acceptable Price for AI's Benefits': OpenAI's Sam Altman Says
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said his company and rival Anthropic remain divided by a basic difference in outlook on how AI should be regulated. He argued that the technology's upside justifies tolerating some risk and that the public should keep broad access to it. Altman made the remarks in an interview with Politico's Decoded newsletter. Asked where he parts ways with Anthropic and its CEO Dario…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has expressed that his company and rival Anthropic hold differing views on AI regulation. In a Politico interview, Altman stated that he believes the advantages of AI technology warrant accepting certain risks and maintaining broad accessibility. When asked about his divergence from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, Altman emphasized there is "a lot of daylight" between the two.
Altman's stance is that society must tolerate some adverse outcomes to reap the benefits of the technology and give individuals control over its usage. He rejected the notion of sacrificing that openness for assurances of safety. Altman contended that he wouldn't accept a deal that guarantees no significant hacks, misuse, or scams if the price is limiting the technology, as he believes the positive impact of AI would far outweigh the harm.
However, he did not endorse the most extreme risks, such as a significant loss of control over AI systems. Addressing regulatory capture accusations against Anthropic, Altman disagreed with the idea that one San Francisco lab should control AI benefits distribution. He deemed such a trade-off "completely unacceptable" and incompatible with OpenAI's more permissive approach to regulation.
OpenAI and Anthropic have been probing tens of thousands of AI model security incidents, and Altman temporarily halted the training of some advanced models.
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