During a Salesforce‑hosted conference in San Francisco, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said the public’s fear of artificial intelligence is understandable, but urged the industry to place confidence in its own safety protocols.
Altman acknowledged that AI tools have advanced rapidly, making it easier to imagine harmful scenarios. "The world is right to be afraid," he said, adding that he was confident OpenAI and the wider sector could "keep alignment and safety way ahead of capabilities" and would slow or halt progress if necessary.
He echoed calls from other leaders, including Nvidia head Jensen Huang, who argued that new AI releases should be governed by the labs themselves, not external regulators. Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg also tweeted that every lab has the incentive to prioritize alignment to avoid liability.
The remarks came after a viral post by a former Anthropic researcher warned that unchecked AI could end humanity by the decade’s end. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a slower pace and government oversight, while OpenAI’s Chris Lehane noted a voluntary industry effort to raise safety standards.
Industry voices remain split. Anthropic’s Jack Clark warned that an unregulated AI sector is “rolling dice with immense risks,” and Logical Intelligence COO Patrick Hillman questioned whether tech firms can be trusted to act in the public interest.
Altman concluded that AI companies should decide when to release new versions and that safety is an engineering problem. He urged leaders to pause if they lose confidence in their products.
