Altman: World Should Accept Some 'Bad Things Happening' From AI
Is accepting some AI harm the price of real progress or a convenient standard set by those shielded from the fallout?
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Above: Open AI CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco, California, on Sept. 29. Image credit: Heather Diehl/Getty Images
The Facts
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a Politico Decoded interview published Sunday that "the world should accept some bad things happening" in exchange for the benefits of artificial intelligence and for people retaining agency over the technology.
- Altman described a gap in worldview with rival Anthropic, rejecting as "a completely unacceptable trade-off" the idea that a single San Francisco lab should hold the technology and decide how its benefits are distributed.
- Altman also said he would not accept a bargain guaranteeing no major hacks, misuse or scams, arguing people will do "orders of magnitude more" good than bad, though he said he does not accept catastrophic risks such as serious loss of control to AI.
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The Spin
Pro-industry narrative
Progress has never waited for perfect rules, and demanding zero risk from AI would stifle the greatest technological advance in a generation. Cars, electricity and the internet all arrived without guardrails, but society quickly determined liability, licensing and insurance. There has to be some risk appetite for any change.
Industry-critical narrative
Asking the public to swallow "some bad things" is a convenient standard when the people setting it are insulated from the fallout. Promises of imminent breakthroughs keep falling flat, yet the harms are supposed to be accepted as the cost of doing business. Anyone pitching acceptable damage should be first in line to absorb it.
