Oprah Winfrey Interviews OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on AI Trust and Impact

Prime-Time AI: Sam Altman Gives Oprah an OpenAI Primer - Decrypt

In an in-depth conversation with TV and film icon Oprah Winfrey on Thursday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared his thoughts on artificial intelligence and what the future holds for the relationship between humans and computers. In one of several interviews for Winfrey's prime-time special "AI and the Future of Us," Altman shed light on the transformative potential of this technology, as well as the critical challenges that developers and policymakers must address. "Four years ago, most of the world, if they found out about AI, thought about self-driving cars or some other thing," he told Winfrey. "It was only in 2022 when first-time people said, 'Okay, this ChatGPT thing, this computer talks to me, now that's new.' And then since then, if you look at how much better it's gotten, it's been a pretty steep rate of improvement." Altman called AI the "next chapter of computing," which allows computers to understand, predict, and interact with their human operators. "We have figured out how to make computers smarter, to understand more, to be able to be more intuitive and more useful," he said. When asked to describe how ChatGPT works, Altman went back to basics, saying the core of ChatGPT's capabilities lies in its ability to predict the next word in a sequence, a skill honed through being trained on large amounts of text data. "The most basic level, we are showing the system 1,000 words in a sequence and asking it to predict what word comes next, and doing that again and again and again," he explained, comparing it to when a smartphone attempts to predict the next work in a text message. "The system learns to predict, and then in there, it learns the underlying concepts." During the segment, Winfrey noted that a lack of trust led to a major shakeup at OpenAI in 2022. In November of that year, Altman was abruptly fired as CEO of OpenAI, with the board citing a lack of trust in Altman's leadership -- although he was reinstated a week later. "So the bar on this is clearly extremely high -- the best thing that we can do is to put this technology in the hands of people," Altman said. "Talk about what it is capable of, what it's not, what we think is going to come, what we think might come, and give our best advice about how society should decide to use [AI]." "We think it's important to not release something which we also might get wrong and build up that trust over time, but it is clear that this is going to be a very impactful technology, and I think a lot of scrutiny is thus super warranted," he added. One of the concerns raised during the interview was the need for diversity in the AI industry, with Winfrey pointing out that predominantly white males currently dominate the field. "Obviously, we want everybody to see themselves in our products," Altman said. "We also want the industry workforce to be much more diverse than it is, and there's slower-than-we'd-like progress, but there is progress there," he said, expressing a commitment to ensuring that the benefits of AI are accessible to all. Altman also highlighted OpenAI's collaboration with policymakers in developing safer artificial intelligence, saying that he speaks with members of the U.S. government -- from the White House to Congress -- multiple times a week. Last month, OpenAI and Anthropic announced the establishment of a formal collaboration with the U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI). In the agreement, the institute would have access to new models of ChatGPT and Claude from each company, respectively, prior to and following their public release. Altman said collaboration between AI developers and policymakers is crucial, as well as safety testing of AI models. "A partnership between the companies developing this technology and governance is really important; one of the first things to do, and this is now happening, is to get the governments to start figuring out how to do safety testing on these systems -- like we do for aircraft or new medicines or things like that," Altman said. "And then I think from there, if we can get good at that now, we'll have an easier time figuring out exactly what the regulatory framework is later." When Winfrey told Altman that he's been called the most powerful and perhaps most dangerous man on the planet, the CEO pushed back. "I don't feel like the most powerful person or anything even close to that," he said. "I feel the opportunity -- responsibility in a positive way -- to get to nudge this in a direction that I think can be really good for people." "That is a serious, exciting, somewhat nerve-wracking thing, but it's something that I feel very deeply about, and I realize I will never get to touch anything this important again," Altman added.

Oprah Winfrey to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman: How do we know we can trust you - Times of India

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman faced tough questions about trust and AI safety in a primetime interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Thursday night on ABC. The interview, part of Winfrey's special "AI and the Future of US," put Altman in the hot seat as he attempted to assuage concerns about the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. Winfrey didn't pull any punches, directly asking Altman: "How do we know we can trust you?" The question referenced Altman's brief ousting from OpenAI in 2023 amid allegations that he had misled the board. "The bottom line for, I think, most people is whether or not you can trust the people who are in charge. And I know you went through a phase where your own board said, 'We don't trust you.' And then you got yourself another board. How do we know we can trust you?," she said Altman acknowledged the gravity of the situation, responding, "The bar on this is clearly extremely high." He emphasised OpenAI's commitment to transparency and open dialogue, stating, "The best thing we can do is to put this technology in the hands of people, talk about what it is capable of, what it's not, what we think is going to come, what we think might come, give our best advice about how society should decide to use this." The CEO also highlighted the importance of building trust over time and being willing to delay product releases if deemed necessary for safety. However, he admitted, "This technology will be misused, like every other technology before it. And we need to be clear-eyed about that, even though -- even though I'm so convinced that the upside will be so tremendous." Altman revealed that he communicates with government officials "every few days" to develop safety measures for AI technology. He stressed the need for government involvement in safety testing, comparing it to processes used for aircraft and new medicines. "One of the first things we need to do -- and this is now happening -- is to get the government to start figuring out how to do safety testing of these systems, like we do for aircraft or new medicines," Altman explained. The interview aired on the same day OpenAI announced its new product, o1, a generative AI model designed to handle complex questions using more human-like reasoning. Fuhrer, there have been reports of OpenAI seeking a $150 billion valuation in its next funding round, which could the AI startup bigger than the likes of Goldman Sachs, Uber and others. The TOI Tech Desk is a dedicated team of journalists committed to delivering the latest and most relevant news from the world of technology to readers of The Times of India. TOI Tech Desk's news coverage spans a wide spectrum across gadget launches, gadget reviews, trends, in-depth analysis, exclusive reports and breaking stories that impact technology and the digital universe. Be it how-tos or the latest happenings in AI, cybersecurity, personal gadgets, platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and more; TOI Tech Desk brings the news with accuracy and authenticity.