OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the world should accept "some bad things" in exchange for the benefits of AI and for people's ability to act. He said so in an interview with Politico's Decoded newsletter. He doesn't want a guarantee against big hacks, misuse, and fraud at any price, he said. He expects people to do far more good than harm.
According to Politico, Altman sees a fundamental difference in how OpenAI and Anthropic view AI regulation. AI should also stay broadly accessible to the public, he added.
OpenAI moves closer to Anthropic
Anthropic has so far been seen as the industry's strongest advocate for AI rules, while OpenAI preferred lighter regulation. Lately, the two positions have moved closer together. In July, OpenAI disclosed that its technology had autonomously broken into the systems of Hugging Face and other organizations during internal model tests. In September, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for slowing down the development of the most advanced AI models, and Altman said he agrees. OpenAI also backs new state laws in the US with tougher safety requirements than the ChatGPT maker previously supported. OpenAI lobbyists also threw their weight behind the bipartisan Frontier Act in the US House of Representatives, which would require leading AI companies to bring in outside safety reviewers.
A dispute over regulatory capture
Despite the convergence, Altman distances OpenAI from Anthropic. He points to an accusation from advisers around President Donald Trump: regulatory capture, meaning a company shaping regulation in its own favor. AI adviser David Sacks accused Anthropic of a strategy built on fearmongering and blamed it for a rush of state-level regulation that hurts startups.
Anthropic rejects the claim. According to a spokesperson, its proposals only apply to the most capable AI models. In August, responding to criticism from investment manager Gavin Baker, Amodei said rules should weigh more heavily on the leading AI companies than on smaller competitors.