The CEO of one of the biggest artificial intelligence companies has come out to say he’s not worried that killer robots will rise up, but he still has concerns and has issued a renewed call for regulations on the technology.
Speaking during the World Government Summit this week, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed how AI could potentially go wrong, but not in the way movies like Terminator and other dramatic sci-fi works have suggested.
“I’m not that interested in the killer robots walking on the street direction of things going wrong,” he said, as reported by the Associated Press. “I’m much more interested in the very subtle societal misalignments where we just have these systems out in society and through no particular ill intention, things just go horribly wrong.”
Also during his talk, Altman said it is of paramount importance that people take AI seriously as it relates to an “action plan” for guidelines and regulations. Altman previously called for world governments to come together to create an oversight body not unlike how the International Atomic Energy Agency was created after World War II to address nuclear proliferation.
“We’re still in the stage of a lot of discussion. So there’s you know, everybody in the world is having a conference. Everyone’s got an idea, a policy paper, and that’s OK,” Altman said. “I think we’re still at a time where debate is needed and healthy, but at some point in the next few years, I think we have to move towards an action plan with real buy-in around the world.”
Altman was briefly ousted from his position as OpenAI CEO in 2023 before being reinstated days later. And while Altman is saying he is for regulation of AI, his company has also made moves to loosen some existing regulations already.
OpenAI is one of the biggest companies in the AI space. Microsoft paid the company $10 billion as part of a partnership where Microsoft wants to put AI into every product it makes, including Xbox.
Many have serious concerns about the rise of AI as it relates to job losses and other impacts on people. In Hollywood, actors and writers won protections against AI in their labor strikes. In the video game space, people have expressed concerns that AI could eliminate or negatively impact some positions.
Experts have warned that AI is an extinction-level concern similar to nuclear war.
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