ChatGPT CEO Issues a Dire Warning

The world is about to change dramatically. The change will define who we become and how societies will be ruled. It will determine the course of human outcomes and whether or not democracies survive. It is historic and monumental—and troubling.

This week, Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI (Chat GPT), testified before Congress about the dangers of AI and warned we must be clear-eyed about the coming threat. “My worst fear is that we cause significant —we, the field, the technology, the industry—cause significant harm to the world. I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong and we want to be vocal about that.”

During his testimony, Altman expressed an urgent need to work with Congress to help mitigate the impending downside of AI. “AI is getting better and better and users will have less and less of their own discriminating thought process around it.”

Senator Richard Blumenthal, who chairs the Sub-Committee on Privacy, Technology & The Law, played this deep fake audio file of his own voice after opening the hearing.

In his introduction, he said that Congress has a choice. “We had the same choice when we faced social media. Congress failed to meet that moment. The result is predators on the internet, toxic content, exploiting children—creating dangers for them.”

Blumenthal went on to warn that Congress has an obligation to meet this moment with safeguards before the imminent threat and risk of AI becomes real. In the absence of them, Blumenthal said he fears we will not only lose our ability to lead the world in science and technology, but also in promoting our democratic values.

You can watch the full hearing or selected clips on C-Span.