{
  "id": 13155758,
  "title": "Salesforce CEO compares AI warnings to his past 'Facebook is a cigarette' call",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/salesforce-ceo-compares-ai-warnings-to-his-past-facebook-is-a",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-10-09T12:19:38.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Times of India",
    "slug": "times-of-india",
    "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/salesforce-ceo-marc-benioff-warning-on-ai-has-a-cautionary-tale-goes-back-to-days-he-called-facebook-new-cigarette-says-that-a-lot-of-individuals-got-hurt/articleshow/134832547.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has weighed in on the growing global conversation surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) safety, urging technology leaders to prioritize ethical responsibility as advanced models proliferate worldwide. This call comes as tensions escalate in Silicon Valley, largely driven by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei's recent 3,800-word essay advocating for an industry-wide slowdown in the deployment of frontier models to allow for the development of technical safeguards.\n\nAccording to CNBC, Benioff has a history of advocating for social responsibility within tech companies. In 2018, he famously declared that Facebook was \"the new cigarettes,\" calling for stringent federal regulation, following a string of social media mishaps. Speaking at Salesforce's annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco, Benioff drew a parallel between the adverse effects of early social networking platforms and the current generative AI landscape. He warned, \"A lot of companies got hurt, a lot of individuals got hurt through social media. We don't want that to happen in AI.\"\n\nHowever, Benioff did not directly criticize AI startups or endorse Amodei's proposal to cease model development. Instead, he emphasized the need for developers to anticipate the societal consequences of their software as innovation progresses. \"We want AI to take care of these things and be held responsible, and take care of these actions and be ethical. The heart of ethics is responsibility,\" he stated, stressing that developers must treat safety as an obligation.\n\nBenioff also acknowledged the powerful impact of the technology, urging the tech community in San Francisco and globally to adopt ethical practices. Meanwhile, Salesforce partnered with Anthropic, and Amodei joined Benioff on stage during the opening keynote, expressing his support for leading the industry forward through ethical leadership and setting a precedent for better practices.",
  "summary": "Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, addressed AI safety at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. He highlighted the importance of using ethical responsibility as AI technology advances. Benioff drew parallels between past social media mistakes and current trends in AI development. He urged developers to thoughtfully consider the societal impacts of their innovations and prioritize safety. By…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}