Sam Altman says he's not afraid to be 'a lightning rod for AI'

In his first appearance after returning as CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman said humanity needs someone to draw attention to AI and that is him.

The Hope Global Forum in Atlanta on December 11 marked the first time Altman was present in person at an event since was fired< a i=2> and returned to run OpenAI at the end of November.

Altman said his goal in returning is to listen to users' opinions, while also understanding societal concerns about how OpenAI's technology could be used to harm humanity.

"I really want to solve this. I wish I was less tired. I'm sorry, it's been a few weeks, I'm a little tired but still happy to be here", Altman started the conversation.

He continued: "It's strange that the information I read doesn't resemble me at all. But in the spirit of empathy, I think people are very worried about AI. I understand because I feel the same way. They needed someone to be a lightning rod for interest and unfortunately, I became that person in short order. But it's okay".

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo: Reuters

Altman also said that in the year since ChatGPT launched, the lives of 770 people at OpenAI have changed. Company employees have worked hard for 6 months to get products that many other businesses need 5-10 years.

"Things are really difficult. Obviously it leads to all sorts of crazy things. It can be a very happy, very lucky thing, but it's also a very painful and difficult process," he said.

At the event, Sam Altman continued to warn about the impact that large language models (LLM) could have on mankind. He said it's important to be honest about this fear, especially its impact on jobs disappearing.

"I was terrified that AI would change the way every job is done, from grocery store cashiers to doctors. This seems to be happening, but I think it's just changing the way people do work, the way smartphones, computers and before that, the Internet have come into existence and impacted life. We should adapt", Altman said.

Sam Altman was the co-founder of OpenAI since 2015 but was deposed on November 17. By November 20, more than 700 company employees simultaneously wrote letters threatening to quit if Altman did not return. On November 22, OpenAI negotiated with Altman, bringing him back to the CEO position. At previous events, Altman repeatedly mentioned the dangers of AI, such as this technology causing worries about false information, shock economic, or something "on a scale far beyond anything humans have prepared for". He also admitted that was shocked because ChatGPT was so popular.

Bao Lam (according to Fortune)

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