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?

Published 4 days ago

Altman: World Should Accept Some 'Bad Things Happening' From AI

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Above: Open AI CEO Sam Altman in San Francisco, California, on Sept. 29. Image credit: Heather Diehl/Getty Images

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.

Richard Hanania on X

smlay on X

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.

Brian Beutler on X

Gary Marcus on X