Sam Altman calls for an international coalition led by the United States to ensure that artificial intelligence becomes a tool for freedom and democracy, rather than a means for authoritarians to maintain power and dominate others.
Altman, the billionaire CEO of OpenAI, wrote in a column for The Washington Post that "who will control AI" is the "pressing question of our time," rather than climate change, which he and others in AI are undoubtedly contributing to, or the political misinformation brought about by the technology.
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He believes we need to ensure that the Western world, led by the United States, dominates this field. Only those with uncharitable interpretations would see Altman's call to action as merely an attempt to protect his California-based OpenAI from Chinese competition.
Altman states, "There is no third option; it is time to decide which path to take." He says, "The United States currently leads in AI development, but... authoritarian governments around the world are willing to spend vast sums to catch up and eventually surpass us."
Altman believes these regimes will use the potential scientific, health, and educational benefits of AI to maintain control of power, specifically naming Russia and China as threats. He warns that if allowed to do so, "they will force American companies and others to share user data... surveil their own citizens or create the next generation of cyber weapons to use against other nations."
Altman says, "The first chapter of AI has been written," referring to "limited assistants" like ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. He adds, "More advances will come quickly and will usher in a definitive period in the story of human society. If we want to ensure that the future of AI benefits as many people as possible, we need a global alliance led by the United States and a new strategy to achieve this goal." Altman adds that this strategy needs to include four aspects: improving AI safety; government building infrastructure to support the latest and greatest AI models; formulating an "AI foreign policy"; and ensuring the establishment of a new set of norms regarding the development and deployment of AI.
Altman suggests that the future AI free forces could play a role similar to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Alternatively, he says, an institution similar to ICANN could be adopted.
Key Points:
🔹 Sam Altman calls for an international coalition led by the United States to ensure AI becomes a tool for freedom and democracy, not for authoritarians to maintain power and dominate others.
🔹 Altman believes authoritarian governments will use AI's potential benefits to maintain control of power, specifically naming Russia and China as threats.
🔹 Altman proposes a four-pronged strategy, including improving AI safety, building infrastructure, formulating a foreign policy, and ensuring new norms for the development and deployment of AI.