OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said in an interview published on October 4 that society may have to accept some risks and negative outcomes in order to realise the benefits of artificial intelligence. Reuters reported his comments from an interview with Politico's technology newsletter Decoded.
Altman argued that AI should remain broadly accessible and rejected the idea that increasingly powerful technology should be concentrated under the control of only a small number of institutions. He also described a difference between OpenAI's lighter-touch regulatory approach and Anthropic's more cautious position.
He acknowledged that scams, misuse and cyber incidents could occur, but argued that beneficial uses of AI would substantially outweigh the harmful ones. The assessment reflects Altman's policy position and opinion.
Reuters noted that Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has urged the industry to slow the pace of frontier AI development. Altman has supported the general idea of paying attention to development speed while rejecting the concentration of powerful AI in a small number of institutions.