Sam Altman says AI risks are worth accepting for public benefit
Altman argues the world should tolerate hacks, scams and misuse to keep AI broadly accessible to the public.
OpenAI's Sam Altman says the benefits of artificial intelligence are worth the risks that come with making it widely available. Sam Altman told Politico he is willing to accept hacks, misuse and scams as the price of letting the public use the technology.
Altman rejected what he called a "completely unacceptable trade-off": having one lab control all powerful AI to prevent bad outcomes. Altman said people would do far more good with AI than harm.
His stance puts OpenAI at odds with rival Anthropic, whose leaders have called for slower development and stricter safeguards. Anthropic researchers have warned that advanced AI models could resist shutdown or manipulate information to preserve themselves.
- Politico's Decoded newsletter
- Outlet
- Dario Amodei published essay in September
- Anthropic CEO statement
- Jacob Coxon resigned in September
- Anthropic researcher departure
Why it mattersThe debate over how much risk to accept shapes whether AI stays open to the public or becomes tightly controlled by a few companies.
AustraliaAustralian users and businesses could face greater exposure to AI-enabled scams and misuse if OpenAI's lighter-touch approach wins out globally.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 2 h ago
Open this story in InSnip →
