Face palm: It goes without saying that AI has brought and will continue to bring “bad things” such as the possible end of humanity. Even OpenAI boss Sam Altman admits this. So what does the CEO suggest we do? Just accept that they will happen because of the benefits that technology brings.
In an interview with Decoded by Politico, Altman was asked about the difference between OpenAI and competitor Anthropic’s approaches to AI security, which has obviously been getting a lot of attention recently.
“I think there’s a lot of daylight,” Altman said. “One of the differences between us and some of the stricter AI security people is that we believe the world should accept some bad things that benefit this technology and the people who have agency.”
“I think that the looser regulatory policies we advocate come with an acceptance of the fact that some bad things will happen as society realizes its resilience,” he continued.
Altman added that he wouldn’t accept a compromise where OpenAI ensures there are no major hacks, scams, misuse of the technology, or other bad things related to AI, because he believes it will make people do orders of magnitude more good things than bad.
Of course, a lot of bad things have already happened because of AI. There is the massive job loss, massive data center pollution and noise, copyright infringement, looting, memory crisis, internet decline, loss of critical thinking, electricity and water demands, and so on.
But things are looking really bleak since OpenAI agents went rogue and hacked Hugging Face. Since then, hundreds more incidents have occurred, prompting warnings from AI experts about the existential threat and moves by industry leaders to slow or halt development.
The specific advantages of AI are not so easy to list. Most of these were limited to scientific areas and many were quite small and experimental. It can predict the weather more accurately, which is nice. Perhaps those orders of magnitude greater benefits that Altman speaks of—like the long-promised cure for cancer—will come later, before they kill us all.
Altman also said in the interview that he does not accept “the truly catastrophic risks,” including the possibility of a “serious loss of control by AI.”
Many people are none too pleased with Altman once again suggesting that we are ungrateful for the gift of AI when its benefits far outweigh its disadvantages.
— Gary Marcus (@GaryMarcus) October 4, 2026
Gary Marcus, a professor emeritus at New York University, said Altman “said the quiet part out loud: Suck it up so you can make us rich and powerful.”
In the interview, Altman also spoke about Elon Musk, with whom he has a turbulent history. “I don’t like bullies and I think Elon is a bully,” he said. “I guess every now and then you have to punch a bully in the nose.”
“And I also think that Elon, like many bullies, only respects people who do that. So if you want me to work with him, maybe you should be happy that I’ll hit back every now and then, but of course I’ll work with Elon.”
Altman co-founded OpenAI with Musk in 2015, but the two have recently filed lawsuits against each other.
