Sam Altman, co-founder and chief executive officer of OpenAI Inc., speaks during TechCrunch Disrupt 2019 in San Francisco, California, on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a recent interview with ABC News that he’s a “little bit scared” of artificial intelligence technology and the way it could affect the workforce, elections and the spread of disinformation.
OpenAI developed the ChatGPT bot, which creates human-like answers to questions and ignited a recent AI craze.
“I believe people really rejoice with [ChatGPT],” Altman said within the interview.
But his excitement over the transformative potential of AI technology, which Altman said will eventually reflect “the collective power, and creativity, and can of humanity,” was balanced by his concerns about “authoritarian regimes” developing competing AI technology.
“We do worry so much about authoritarian governments developing this,” Altman said. Overseas governments have already begun to bring competing AI technology to market.
Chinese tech company Baidu, for instance, recently held a release event for its ChatGPT competitor, a chat AI called Ernie bot.
Years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin said whoever becomes the leader in AI technology “shall be the ruler of the world.” Altman called the comments “chilling.”
Each Google and Microsoft have aggressively stepped up their AI plays. Microsoft selected to partner with Altman’s OpenAI to integrate its GPT technology into Bing search. Google parent Alphabet unveiled an internally developed chatbot called Bard AI, to mixed feedback from Google employees and test drivers.
The influence of ChatGPT and AI tools prefer it hasn’t yet reverberated through the American election process, but Altman said the 2024 election was a spotlight for the corporate.
“I’m particularly frightened that these models might be used for large-scale disinformation,” the CEO told ABC.
“Now that they are getting at writing computer code, [models] might be used for offensive cyberattacks,” he said.
ChatGPT’s programming prowess has already made a mark on many developers. It already functions as a “co-pilot” for programmers, Altman said, and OpenAI is working toward unlocking an analogous functionality for “every career.”
The CEO acknowledged that it might mean many individuals would lose their jobs but said it might represent a possibility to give you a greater type of job.
“We are able to have a much higher quality of life, way of life,” Altman said. “People need time to update, to react, to get used to this technology.”
