Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, has called artificial intelligence (AI) an existential risk and urged global leaders to collaborate on regulating the rapidly growing space. Speaking at an event organized by The Economic Times in New Delhi, Altman emphasized that the regulation should primarily cover major players in the AI ecosystem, such as Google and OpenAI itself, rather than smaller companies deploying large language models (LLMs).
Altman stated that OpenAI is actively seeking countries to formulate regulations for the AI sector. If governments fail to take action, Altman expressed the intention to work with interested companies worldwide to establish norms for AI. He highlighted India’s G20 presidency as an opportunity for the country to prioritize and contribute significantly to shaping an international regulatory framework for AI.
Sandhini Agarwal, an AI policy researcher at OpenAI, added that the focus should be on setting standards and fostering a two-way conversation with companies about the development and impact of AI technologies.
During Altman’s visit to India, he praised the IndiaStack initiative, emphasizing the importance of integrating emerging technologies into government services to enhance their reach. He also suggested the idea of a nationally-funded AI effort to stimulate the AI ecosystem.
Altman noted that the adoption of AI might disrupt the job market to some extent, similar to the Industrial Revolution. However, he also emphasized that AI would create new and better jobs, making the world wealthier and leading to a productivity boom. Altman highlighted the potential for AI to make workers significantly more efficient and suggested that AI could help the IT industry produce three times more software to meet global demand.
While concerns about job displacement due to AI adoption have been raised globally, Altman’s perspective is that AI will bring about positive changes and open up new opportunities. Nevertheless, he emphasized the need for global leaders to regulate the AI space, especially major tech players.
Altman’s India trip is part of a larger tour that includes visits to countries such as Israel, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, and South Korea. He recently met with India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant to discuss leveraging generative AI to improve the quality of life for citizens. Altman is also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit.
