Some ‘Bad Things’ Should Accepted For the Benefits of AI, Says Sam Altman

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said society may have to accept some risks from artificial intelligence to gain its wider benefits. He also argued against putting AI under the control of a single company or tightly restricting public access to the technology.

Speaking to Politico’s technology newsletter Decoded, Altman said the world should accept that some harmful incidents may occur as AI becomes more widely available.

“We believe that the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency,” Altman said.

He argued that AI should remain broadly accessible rather than being controlled by a single laboratory. Altman also said OpenAI favors a lighter regulatory approach that allows people to access the technology and benefit from it.

OpenAI and Anthropic Take Different Approaches

Altman’s position contrasts with the more cautious approach taken by Anthropic. Its CEO, Dario Amodei, has called for AI companies to slow the development of increasingly capable systems to give society more time to address potential risks

Altman has also rejected the idea that AI development should simply be stopped because of potential dangers. He has acknowledged risks including hacking, scams and other forms of misuse while arguing that the technology’s potential benefits outweigh these risks.

The debate comes as governments and AI companies face growing concerns about misuse, cybersecurity, fraud and the ability of humans to maintain control over increasingly capable AI systems.

Altman recently told the United Nations Security Council that powerful AI systems should remain under strong human control and warned against concentrating too much AI power in a small number of companies or countries.