Sam Altman and the Global Implications of AI
A chat summary of OpenAI's CEO at Davos
Morning y’all!
I hope you’re staying warm! It’s still cold in most parts of the US but the weather gurus swear that it’s coming to an end. But, I’ll be keeping my (many) layers and space heater close because I’ve never really trusted forecasting but that’s just me.
🥶
Also, I’m starting to share a bit more of the tools that I find via X so feel free to follow me there if that’s of interest. I encounter so many every single day but I’ll try to share the ones that are more practical in nature.
To be entirely honest I’m not sure how I really want to use X in the long-term outside of a sharing-what-I-find type of outlet but perhaps we can build a bit more community there as well? I shared a few thoughts with one of our readers, Joshua, which was neat! Thanks Josh!
Have a warm one! ✌(-‿-)✌
— Summer
In this video via Bloomberg, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, joins Anna Makanju (Vice President of Global Affairs) and Bloomberg’s Brad Stone for a chat. Below you’ll find a summary for your reading pleasure.
Here’s the high-level overview:
In the YouTube video "OpenAI's Altman and Makanju on Global Implications of AI," Sam Altman and Anna Makanju of OpenAI discuss various societal and political implications of AI.
They emphasize the importance of guidelines around the use of AI in elections and the need for transparency, especially leading up to the 2024 US Democratic elections. OpenAI has introduced measures such as banning the use of their technology ChatGPT in political campaigns and leveraging cryptographic watermarks. Despite concerns about a potential "Cambridge Analytica moment," Altman emphasizes the learning from past experiences and the conversation remaining bipartisan, despite regulatory differences.
The speakers also discuss the potential of AI to further trends of dislocation and inequality but remain optimistic about its transformative potential as a tool for productivity. They address reports about OpenAI relaxing restrictions around the use of AI in military projects, clarifying their ongoing prohibition of harm to individuals.
The team also discusses their collaboration with the arts community and the potential of AI to co-exist with human creativity. Altman and Makanju share their experiences from working in government and their approach to engaging with the arts community. They emphasize the need for positive messaging about AI to help people understand and benefit from its potential and engage in open conversations about its capabilities and potential risks
Now for the details with links to each section in the video:
00:00:00 In this section Sam Altman and Anna Makanju discuss the importance of guidelines around the use of AI in elections, specifically in relation to the upcoming Democratic elections in 2024. OpenAI has introduced new measures such as banning the use of their technology ChatGPT in political campaigns and leveraging cryptographic watermarks for transparency.
They have a strong safety systems team and partnerships with organizations like the National Association of Secretaries of State to enforce these guidelines. Altman addresses concerns about a potential "Cambridge Analytica moment" and emphasizes the learning from past experiences.
Both speakers believe that the stakes are high for the US election with regards to the safe stewardship of AI, and they believe that the conversation around AI has remained bipartisan despite differences in regulatory approaches.00:05:00 In this section the speakers discuss the societal and political implications of AI, noting that it has become a significant issue, but not yet to the extent that some may expect. They discuss the potential for AI to further trends of dislocation and inequality, but express optimism about its transformative potential as a tool for productivity that magnifies human abilities.
The speakers also address reports about OpenAI relaxing restrictions around the use of AI in military projects, clarifying that they still prohibit the development of weapons and harm to individuals, but have been working with the Department of Defense on cybersecurity tools for open source software.00:10:00 In this section the speakers discuss OpenAI's explorations of using their AI technology in various applications, such as assisting with veteran suicide prevention. They clarify that the US government has not asked for any restrictions on cooperation with military agencies in other countries.
The conversation then shifts to the GPT store, where users can create and share customized applications of ChatGPT. The speakers mention that there has been a significant number of applications created before the store was launched and that they are focusing on learning from smaller amounts of high-quality data.
Lastly, they address OpenAI's copyright issues and the importance of publisher relations for their business. Despite a recent lawsuit, they emphasize that they do not want to train on copyrighted content without permission, but acknowledge that it is not a simple issue to enforce. They also mention that there are both challenges and opportunities in the use of AI with published content.00:15:00 In this section it focuses on their approach to engaging with the arts community and the potential for AI to collaborate with artists instead of replacing them. Makanju explains that OpenAI is implementing measures to avoid generating art in an artist's style without their consent and allows artists to opt out of their images being used. They also aim to create a platform where artists can profit from their styles when AI is used to generate content.
Additionally, Altman shares his experience from working in government during the 2016 Russia election interference and his motivation to help governments understand and incorporate AI technology for the betterment of society. The team is currently focusing on assembling a strong board to govern OpenAI and will evaluate the governance structure afterwards.00:20:00 In this section Sam Altman shares his experience during a controversial period when a significant number of the company's employees threatened to resign, potentially leading to the liquidation of their equity. Microsoft, an investor in OpenAI, stepped in to support the mission and the board ultimately invited Altman back to lead the company. Altman reflects on the incident and discusses the unusual circumstances that led to his return.
Later in the conversation, the talk moves to discuss the climate change implications of AI's development and the energy demands it presents. Altman argues that as AI requires an enormous amount of energy, it may drive investments into technologies that address this need, such as fusion or cheaper solar energy storage.
Despite the potential challenges, Altman expresses optimism about the possibilities and the potential for technological advancements to mitigate the climate impact.00:25:00 In this section the speakers discuss the potential impact of AI on the global energy transition and climate change. They argue that a significant reduction in energy costs could accelerate the transition away from carbon sources, but the supply side of energy production requires a major breakthrough.
The speakers also address the impending regulation of AI and the need for a cooperative approach to ensure safety and prevent discouragement of entrepreneurial activity. They emphasize the importance of understanding that progress in AI development is not linear and encourage political and business leaders to engage in discussions about AGI capabilities and potential risks.00:30:00 In this section the speakers discuss the exponential growth of AI and its potential impact on the world. They express their concern about humans' poor intuition towards exponentials and the uncertainty of what lies ahead. Regarding regulation, they emphasize the need for an iterative approach as technology and society co-evolve.
The speakers also share their expectations for the next generation of AI to be impressive and a significant improvement over previous versions, while acknowledging the responsibility to launch it responsibly and safely. They stress that the distinction between creating a tool versus creating a "god" is important, and they view themselves as tool builders.00:35:00 In this section Altman discuss the potential of AI as a tool for human creativity and the development of new devices. Altman shares his excitement about the creativity displayed by people using AI as a tool and expresses that there will be even more possibilities in the future. He also mentions their partnership with Johnny Lee, but remains vague about the nature of the collaboration.
Regarding the impact of AI on smartphones, Altman believes that smartphones are not going away, but there might be new devices that complement them and provide better ways to interact with technology. The emphasis is the importance of designing AI in a human-compatible way to make it accessible and loved by users. Overall, they discuss the importance of positive messaging about AI to help people understand and benefit from its potential.
Also, the folks at Bloomberg need to learn how to spell (or use a spellchecker). 🤣
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As Altman mentioned the exponential effect of AI, it is something to think about. It’s as if it triggered the start of a race between large organizations and those in between to train models and roll out tools as fast as possible. I can see a mix of implications from this, both positive and negative.