Sam Altman says AI needs to do more than cure cancer to win over skeptics
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argues that the AI industry must aim higher than curing cancer to regain public trust. He suggests that focusing on creativity and entrepreneurship is essential to counter growing societal skepticism toward AI.
Why it matters
As public backlash against AI grows, industry leaders are struggling to refine their messaging to address concerns about job displacement and social impact.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Sean Rayford/Getty Images Sam Altman says the AI industry should aim beyond curing cancer to gain public trust and support. Trust in AI has soured as people protest data centers, and the technology is banned in some schools. Anthropic's Dario Amodei previously said that "actually" curing cancer is a way to deliver on AI hype. Cure cancer with AI, and the doubters will understand the hype. That may be Silicon Valley's standard pitch, but Sam Altman says it is not ambitious enough. Speaking to Bloomberg Television on Thursday, the OpenAI CEO said that the tech industry has done a "terrible job" making the positive case for AI, as public trust in the technology has soured.
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