Sam Altman Acknowledges Risks of ChatGPT

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman says that artificial intelligence will fundamentally alter conventional society, according to ABC News.

He says the technology carries real threats, but it is also “the greatest invention of humankind,” capable of improving people’s lives.

“We must be careful. I think people should be happy that we are scared [by the potential of AI],” Altman said.

The head of the company admitted that the success of ChatGPT and the recent release of GPT-4 do not let him sleep easy:

“I am particularly concerned about the use of these models for large-scale disinformation. Now that they write software code better, they can be used for offensive cyberattacks.”

At the same time, Altman does not share the popular science-fiction myth of enslaving humanity to artificial intelligence. In his view, the models are too dependent on and controllable by humans.

OpenAI’s chief executive is more worried about those who will hold the technology’s reins.

“There will be other people who do not impose some of the safety limits we have put in place. I think society still has some time to figure out how to respond to this, how to regulate it, and how to behave,” he added.

Among other concerns for Altman is job displacement. He believes AI will displace certain professions. The question is how quickly this will happen:

“I think that over several generations humanity has shown the ability to adapt to big technological shifts. But if this happens in a definite number of years […]. That is the part about which I worry most.”

Yet Altman urged viewing tools like ChatGPT as assistants rather than replacements. He added that “human ingenuity is boundless and we are creating new jobs.”

Altman says the advantages of using ChatGPT outweigh the drawbacks. OpenAI wants people to use the tool as a “second pilot” that can help write code or solve problems.

Beyond this, the head of the company noted that authorities and society must be engaged in deploying ChatGPT. He is confident that feedback will help prevent any consequences arising from the harmful use of AI.

In March, OpenAI unveiled a large multimodal model GPT-4.

In February, Altman called ChatGPT “an awful product.”

In January, researchers at the company warned about the use of AI for disinformation.