At the heart of an improbable soap opera between November 17 and 22 (which began with his surprise dismissal and ended with his reinstatement), Sam Altman spoke publicly for the first time during a forum in Atlanta. He defends a rapid industrial revolution, while some criticize him for not moving cautiously enough.
It was an expected speech. Three weeks after being fired by the OpenAI board, Sam Altman spoke publicly at a forum in Atlanta on December 11.
In an article published on December 12 by Bloomberg, we learned that the new boss of OpenAI (he was rehired on November 22) did not once address the question of his dismissal, which suggests that his taking of speech was very structured. However, Sam Altman delivered an interesting speech about his upcoming work at OpenAI, suggesting that his dismissal would have no impact on how he runs the company. In a way, we can see this as confirmation of the reasons for his dismissal, namely his desire to move quickly.
While some are calling on OpenAI to slow down on innovation, so as not to lose control of its technology, Sam Altman undertakes to continue to move forward quickly. He defends a model of public innovation, which he opposes to research in a “secret laboratory”.
Sam Altman is not afraid of Terminator
During his conference, Sam Altman explained that he had always been fascinated by rebellious AIs like Terminatorwithout being afraid of it. “All these thoughts about ways this could go wrong, you don’t need a lot of imagination because we grew up with that in the media. » explains the boss of OpenAI, who contrasts the feasibility of such a scenario with its fictional nature. “People have a lot of anxiety, and I understand that. They need to project that fear onto someone, and unfortunately, for now, I’m going to be that person », admits Sam Altman.
This statement recalls one of the soap operas that followed Sam Altman’s return to OpenAI, when an anonymous letter mentioned the existence of a secret project called Q*. At the time, some expressed concern that Sam Altman was moving too quickly in the development of semi-conscious AI, which could go even further than ChatGPT. A theory defused by several experts, but which could have contributed to its fall of a few days. Sam Altman would defend a rapid revolutionary model, where others prefer to innovate secretly, before announcing their exploits.
This strategy “will uplift the world” according to Sam Altman, who remains convinced that the AI revolution must be public. This is quite logical given the lead taken by OpenAI and ChatGPT on the subject, which Google companies are only now catching up.
To reassure, Sam Altman took advantage of his visit to Atlanta to announce the creation of an AI ethics council that he will co-chair. He wants to calm debates and concerns about artificial intelligence.
If Bloomberg presents this speech as the first public appearance of Sam Altman since his dismissal, the boss of OpenAI had actually given an interview to The Verge on November 30. He reflected on what he had felt during his dismissal and on his desire to continue the adventure, without major revelations.
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