During an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed his concerns regarding the impact of ChatGPT, the company’s AI creation, stating that he is “a little bit scared” and that it is “going to eliminate a lot of current jobs.”
“A little bit scared” and that it is “going to eliminate a lot of current jobs.” stated Altman.
OpenAI recently launched a new version of their AI technology, ChatGPT-4, with the capability to comprehend images. The updated iteration was demonstrated sharing a fridge recipe, solving puzzles, and describing internet memes.
Altman explained that ChatGPT, a powerful artificial intelligence technology, works by “ingesting a huge amount of text from a significant fraction of the internet” and replicating something similar to reasoning and understanding. At this time, the new features included in the latest iteration are only available to a small set of users. Altman acknowledged that the creation of ChatGPT and other AI systems could potentially eliminate millions of jobs, but he also believes that it “can do the opposite of all those things too.”
Altman acknowledged the potential loss of jobs due to AI technology, but also noted that “we can make much better ones.” He expressed confidence in human adaptability and creativity, stating that “society can adapt wonderfully to major technological shifts.” Despite the costs, Altman believes that the benefits of developing such technology will be immense, stating that “this will be the greatest technology humanity has yet developed.”
The CEO, aged 37, expressed his apprehensions about the possibility of the technology being misused by authoritarian governments such as Russia and China. Altman assured ABC News that he stays in regular communication with the federal government to ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of the AI arms race.
Moreover, Altman stated that he is concerned about the potential of ChatGPT generating “misinformation.”
“The ‘hallucinations problem’ is a thing that I try to caution people the most about. The model will confidently state things as if they were facts that are entirely made up,” Altman explained. He also emphasized that he believes it’s important to have some fear about the technology, stating, “People should be happy that we are a little bit scared of this.” When asked by ABC News’ chief business, technology, and economics correspondent Rebecca Jarvis if he personally is fearful of ChatGPT, Altman replied, “I think if I said I were not, you should either not trust me or be very unhappy I’m in this job.” Additionally, Altman expressed concern about the technology falling into the wrong hands, including authoritarian governments like Russia and China, and stated that he is in constant contact with the federal government to ensure the United States remains competitive in the AI arms race.
