Artificial intelligence guru Sam Altman has warned that the technology could be used to influence American voters in the 2024 election.
A particular concern of OpenAI co-founder Altman — who was spectacularly fired and then reinstated as the company's CEO last month — is that the technology could be used to scan voters' social media posts.
He says people could then become targets of personalized AI-generated disinformation, including highly emotional messages asking them to vote for a particular candidate.
The tycoon, whose company is behind ChatGPT, believes AI will be “the most powerful technology humanity has invented yet.”
But, he told the audience at Time Magazine's gala in New York City, it will create powerful tools for those who want to influence elections, enabling techniques far more advanced than those currently available.
Sam Altman, 38, appeared on stage Tuesday at Time Magazine's annual gala, where he was named CEO of the Year
Altman and Sam Jacobs, editor-in-chief of Time Magazine, appear at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on Tuesday evening
Altman, after being named Time's CEO of the Year, warned that troll farms abroad are “trying to interfere without elections.”
“They make one great meme, and it spreads and we all see the same thing on Facebook or Twitter. That will continue to happen and get better.
“But what worries me more: what if an AI reads everything you've ever written online – every tweet, every article, everything? And sends you one message at exactly the right time, tailor-made just for you, that will truly change the way you think about the world.
“That's a new kind of interference that just wasn't possible before AI.”
Speaking to Time editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs, the St. Louis-born tech entrepreneur emphasized that he was optimistic about the potential of AI, and painted a generally sunny picture of medical advances and increased access to education.
“I think we will see education change profoundly and improve forever,” he said. “I think the kids in kindergarten today will be smarter and better prepared by the time they reach 12th grade than today's best kids.”
Altman is seen with Jacobs, who interviewed him on Tuesday
He said the experience of his dismissal and new appointment had been 'painful and exhausting' and that he had not yet had time to process what had happened – but that he was 'happy to be back at work'.
“I think everyone involved in this, as we get closer and closer to superintelligence, everyone involved becomes more and more stressed as the stakes get higher,” he said, trying to explain the dramatic events.
“And I think that all blew up.”
Altman said the team at OpenAI was “building tools that are useful to people” – and they realized they had a huge responsibility.
Critics fear a nightmare Terminator II: Judgment Day-like scenario in which sentient machines decide to eradicate their creators and take over the world, turning it into an apocalyptic hellscape.
“If we can create abundant intelligence for the world and abundant energy, then our ability to have great ideas that our children can teach themselves, for health care, for people to be more productive, for a boost to the economy, for people to help themselves – If we put those things into action with energy, they are two huge, huge things,” he said.
'Now they have disadvantages. And so it's up to us to figure out how to make this safe, and put it in people's hands in a responsible way.
“But I think we now see a path where the world becomes much more abundant and much better every year, and people have the capacity to do much, much more than we can imagine today.”
Altman said he understood that there were many skeptics and many people were afraid of the enormous power of AI.
Among them is Elon Musk – who co-founded OpenAI with Altman before leaving the company in 2018 and becoming one of its harshest critics. Musk has argued that AI is becoming too powerful, without sufficient guardrails.
Altman said Tuesday that he was “very grateful that Elon exists in the world,” adding, “I think he's done some amazing things.”
He also praised Musk's work in electric vehicles and space exploration, and said his criticism of Microsoft controlling OpenAI (Microsoft has invested $13 billion in the company) was unfair and inaccurate.
Altman is pictured with his fiancée, Australian software engineer Oliver Mulherin
The San Francisco-based CEO said he still believed he and his team were developing something that would be beneficial to humanity.
“I think we started seeing it in 2023; We'll see a lot more in 2024; and by the time the end of the decade rolls around, I think we'll be in a much better place,” he said.
“It sounds silly and sci-fi optimism. But when you think about how different the world will be. Nowadays they have ChatGPT – it's not very good.
“Then they have the best chief of staff in the world. And then everyone has a company of 20 to 50 experts who work really well together, and then 10,000 experts in each field.
“If someone wants to focus on curing disease, he or she can do that, or create art, he or she can.”
Speaking at his dramatic firing on November 17 before being rehired at OpenAI on November 21, Altman said it be seen in the context of 'a crazy whole year' – noting that ChatGPT was only released a year ago and the company's profile and reach exploded.
And he said he believed the layoff-renewal drama would be good for the company in the long run.
“It's been extremely painful for me personally, but I actually think it's been great for OpenAI,” he said.
'We have never been so united. We have never been more determined and focused.
“And we always said this moment would come when we were building AGI. We didn't think it would happen so quickly.
“But we are stronger when we go through it.
“I wouldn't wish it on an enemy, but it did have a positive effect on the company.”
He said he was extremely proud of the response of his staff and continued to work despite the unrest.
But he admitted it had been intense and exhausting.