Sam Altman Expresses Confidence in Elon Musk's Ethical Use of Political Influence

Sam Altman Challenges Elon Musk Not to Engage in Corruption

Eugene Gologursky for the New York Times / Brandon Bell via Getty / Futurism It's safe to say that Elon Musk, by backing Donald Trump and weaseling his way into the president-elect's inner circle -- and in effect his administration -- has catapulted himself to the uppermost echelon of power, where he could use his influence to punish his enemies. But Musk's arch nemesis Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, sounds like he's not too worried about that happening, at least nominally. Instead, he appealed to Musk's better nature. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon has it to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said Wednesday at The New York Time DealBook Summit. "I don't think people would tolerate that," he added. "I don't think Elon would do it." It's a nice thought, Altman. But Musk is a petty, vindictive guy. During his takeover of X-formerly-Twitter, for example, Musk abused his newfound influence to silence his biggest critics. Why stop there? Anyhow, Musk and Altman don't exactly get along famously -- so it's tempting to interpret Altman's comments as a dig. Together, they co-founded OpenAI in 2015. But by 2018, their partnership had soured into a rivalry, and Musk formally left the AI startup allegedly due to heated disagreements over its direction. Since then, Musk has been a vocal critic of Altman's leadership, and in particular his decisions to take the company down a for-profit route when it was originally founded to be a non-profit. And for these reasons, Musk sued OpenAI. But on the other hand, Altman's comments could be interpreted ascozying up to Musk and Trump -- much like how the rest of the tech industry has already bent the knee to their two new overlords. Certainly, no one in Silicon Valley -- Google, Microsoft, etc -- would like to be on the new administration's bad side and have their monopolies broken up. Musk himself poses a threat by co-chairing the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he hopes to slash federal spending by trillions of dollars. Many of these tech companies -- Musk's included, and that's a conflict of interest for another time -- enjoy lucrative government contracts, which Musk could recommend cutting off. But he could also gut regulators that have stood in the way of his companies, thereby giving himself an edge over his competitors. It's unclear, however, if Musk will actually have the power to do any of this, since DOGE is currently not an executive department but a mere commission. Nonetheless, he has Trump's ear -- and that's distressing enough for his rivals.

Elon Musk weighs in on whether he would abuse his growing political influence

Elon Musk has weighed in on comments from his rivals downplaying the idea that he would abuse his growing political power. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon (AMZN+2.08%) founder Jeff Bezos, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, and other tech and business leaders who have crossed Musk in the past are worried about his influential relationship with Donald Trump. Publicly, both Bezos and Altman have downplayed their fears. Bezos said this week at the annual New York Times DealBook Summit that he's "optimistic this time around" about Donald Trump's second presidential administration, which Musk has had a key role in laying the ground for. Bezos, who is now focused on his aerospace company Blue Origin, called Musk's SpaceX "very good competitors," adding that he doubts Musk would use his influence unjustly. "I take it face value, what has been said, which is that he's not going to use his political power to advantage his own companies or to disadvantage his competitors," Bezos said, adding that he "could be wrong about that, but I think it could be true." Altman, also speaking at DealBook, said that he believes "pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing," adding that it would be "profoundly un-American to use political power" to hurt competitors. His comments come even as Altman has reportedly reached out to his connections in Trump's circle, including Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who Trump tapped to lead the Commerce Department. "They are right," Musk chimed in Friday on his social media platform, X. Both Bezos and Altman would have good reason to fear a vengeful Musk with political power. Bezos and Musk have had a few public spats in recent years. Blue Origin has protested a contract NASA gave SpaceX and sought to limit SpaceX's Starship launches, while Amazon's Kuiper has opposed SpaceX's plans to expand its Starlink satellite network. In 2020, Musk called for the government to break up Amazon, complaining about monopolies. As for Altman, Musk was an OpenAi co-founder in 2015 before he left over a conflict of interest in 2018. A few years later, he launched his own artificial intelligence startup, xAI, which just secured another $6 billion in funding, according to a regulatory filing. Musk has sued OpenAI and has asked a federal court to stop it from becoming a for-profit business and to prevent it from allegedly requiring investors to refrain from funding rivals, including xAI.

Altman: Musk won't use political power to hurt rivals

OpenAI chief says he doesn't think Elon will unleash political powers to zap AI competition OpenAI boss Sam Altman has expressed hope that Elon Musk won't use his political clout to hurt his competitors, describing such activity as "un-American." During the New York Times Dealbook Summit, Altman was reported as saying: "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses. I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk and Altman have fallen out over AI technology, particularly the "openness" of OpenAI's approach and the idea of the company becoming a for-profit business. Earlier this month, Musk filed an injunction against Altman to prevent OpenAI from moving toward an entirely for-profit business. The latest filing also asks for an injunction to prevent OpenAI and linked parties from investing in the company's competitors. Having lent his support to US President-elect Donald Trump during the recent US election campaign, it has been announced that Elon Musk will head the "Department of Government Efficiency," charged with finding ways of reducing the US budget. One of Musk's customers, Jared Isaacman, was nominated as the next administrator of NASA earlier this week. While Musk merely offered his congratulations, it is difficult not to imagine the billionaire exercising some influence over the decision. Isaacman has paid for several rides on SpaceX's Falcon 9, culminating in a recent "spacewalk" in which the space enthusiast stood inside the top hatch of a Crew Dragon, garbed in a SpaceX spacesuit, and looked at Earth. But using that power to hurt a rival? Un-American. Or so Altman and other tech giants will be fervently hoping as they ponder what the next four years will bring. Musk has fingers in many pies, including social media, rockets, and electric cars, as well as AI technology. However, it is over AI that the lawsuits and invective are flying at the moment. Musk's xAI is to expand its Memphis supercomputer to house at least one million GPUs, a figure Musk later upped to one billion via a posting on X. The billionaire was probably joking, although Meta, seeking to fuel its AI ambitions, has said it'll need another four gigawatts of power by the time the 2030s roll around. ®

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says it would be 'profoundly un-American' if Elon Musk uses Trump admin role to 'hurt' competitors

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations. Musk, whose companies include Tesla, SpaceX and social media platform X, has started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk, Altman said he felt "tremendously sad" but also characterized Musk's legal fight as one about business competition. "He's a competitor and we're doing well," Altman said. Altman also addressed another pending lawsuit against OpenAI from The New York Times, host of Wednesday's DealBook summit of business and political leaders. The Times is among several news outlets that have sued San Francisco-based OpenAI and its business partner Microsoft for copyright infringement in the use of news articles to train AI systems like ChatGPT. The companies have argued they are protected by the "fair use" doctrine of copyright law. "If an AI reads something -- a physics textbook -- it can learn physics, it can use that for other things like a human can," Altman said. Lawyers for both sides gathered before a New York federal magistrate judge Tuesday for more than four hours to work out disagreements over how they would collect potential evidence from one another. Depositions are set to begin in January. A lawyer for the newspapers said in court that the publications have confirmed millions of news articles were used for AI training. "Look, I don't believe in showing up in someone else's house as a guest and being rude, but I will say, I think The New York Times is on the wrong side of history in many ways," Altman told Times journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin during the on-stage interview Wednesday. "We could discuss and debate that and we'll do that, I think, in court," Sorkin responded, to laughter from the audience. -- -- -- - Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed to this report.

Sam Altman 'Not That Worried' About Elon Musk's Relationship With Trump

The entrepreneur revealed his thoughts on his old friend's political pivot at The New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday. "I may turn out to be wrong, but I strongly believe that Musk will do the right thing," he said. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," he added. "I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." What Happened Between Musk and Altman? Altman delivered the remarks amid Musk's recent appointment, alongside entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, to lead the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Republican President-elect Donald Trump. This advisory body -- which began as a joke post on Musk's platform X -- aims to streamline government operations and reduce wasteful spending. Musk and Altman cofounded OpenAI in 2015 with the mission of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The company has since commandeered the AI boom, most famously through the release of ChatGPT. Musk left the company's board in 2018, citing potential future conflicts of interest with his role at Tesla. In February, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman and company President Greg Brockman, alleging that the organization had strayed from its original nonprofit mission by prioritizing profits and forming a partnership with Microsoft. He later added Microsoft as a defendant, accusing both companies of forming a monopoly. 'Tremendously Sad' About Frayed Friendship Musk's recent ventures include the launch of xAI, an artificial intelligence company positioned as a direct competitor to OpenAI. Asked about his frayed relationship with Musk, Altman said he felt "tremendously sad" but also characterized Musk's legal fight as one about business competition. "He's a competitor and we're doing well," he added. Altman also commented on a separate lawsuit filed by The New York Times -- the host of Wednesday's DealBook summit. The Times is among several media organizations suing OpenAI and its partner Microsoft, accusing them of infringing on copyrights by using news articles to train AI systems like ChatGPT. Both companies have defended their actions, citing the "fair use" doctrine under copyright law. NYT Copyright Case to Begin in January The legal proceedings are ongoing, with both parties preparing for depositions scheduled to start in January. Attorneys from both sides met for over four hours Tuesday before a federal magistrate judge in New York, seeking to resolve disputes over the collection of potential evidence. A lawyer representing the Times said that millions of articles were confirmed to have been used in AI training. Altman defended OpenAI's practices: "If an AI reads something -- a physics textbook -- it can learn physics, it can use that for other things like a human can." "Look, I don't believe in showing up in someone else's house as a guest and being rude, but I will say, I think The New York Times is on the wrong side of history in many ways." This article includes reporting from the Associated Press Related Articles

OpenAI's Sam Altman 'not that worried' about rival Elon Musk's influence in the Trump administration

NEW YORK -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk has also started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says it'd be 'un-American' for Elon Musk to wield political influence to harm rivals | TechCrunch

During an interview at The New York Times' DealBook Summit on Wednesday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that it'd be "profoundly un-American" for Elon Musk, the CEO of X and Tesla, to wield political influence to "hurt competitors" and "advantage [his] own businesses." "I don't think people would tolerate that," he said, per Bloomberg. Musk, alongside Vivek Ramaswamy, is heading up DOGE, a planned advisory commission that'll recommend deep cuts to federal agencies. Musk, who owns an OpenAI competitor, xAI, will reportedly also have input into incoming President Donald Trump's AI policy lead, should Trump decide to appoint one. Musk is suing OpenAI, accusing the company of abandoning its original mission and harming rivals like xAI through anticompetitive behavior. Altman, who in the interview called xAI a "serious competitor," said that he's "tremendously sad" about the suit. "I thought what Elon was doing was absolutely incredible for the world, and I have different feelings about him now, but I'm glad he exists," Altman said.

OpenAI's Sam Altman 'not that worried' about rival Elon Musk's influence in the Trump administration

NEW YORK (AP) -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk has also started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations.

OpenAI's Sam Altman 'not that worried' about Elon Musk's...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk has also started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations.

Sam Altman isn't worried about Elon Musk's relationship with Donald Trump

As his former colleague and artificial intelligence rival prepares for a role in the incoming Trump administration, Sam Altman says he's not worried about Elon Musk. Despite there being "lots of things not to like about" Musk, it would go against the billionaire's values to hurt competitors, the OpenAI chief executive said during an interview at the New York Times (NYT+0.11%) DealBook Summit on Wednesday. "I may turn out to be wrong, but I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing and that it would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal (NWSA-0.67%) reported that Altman and other tech and business leaders who have drawn Musk's ire are worried about the influence he could have on regulation. Altman reportedly reached out to his connections in Trump's circle, including the President-elect's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his brother, Joshua Kushner, head of major OpenAI investor Thrive Capital. Altman also reportedly asked a mutual friend to set up a meeting with Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for commerce secretary. Musk, who co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 before leaving over a conflict of interest in 2018, announced in September that his AI startup, xAI, had brought "the most powerful AI training system in the world" online after only 122 days. The Colossus training cluster is powered by 100,000 Nvidia (NVDA+1.90%) H100 training chips and "will double in size" "in a few months" to 200,000 chips, including 50,000 of the more powerful Nvidia H200 chips, Musk said. Altman said he assumes xAI will "be a really serious competitor" to OpenAI. "I have different feelings about him [Musk] now, but I'm still glad he exists," Altman said. "Not just because I think his companies are awesome, which I do think, but because I think he, at a time when most of the world was not thinking very ambitiously, he pushed a lot of people, me included, to think much more ambitiously." Additionally, Altman said ChatGPT's search feature is his "favorite product we've launched in a long time," and that OpenAI will announce new launches and demos for the next 12 business days starting on Thursday.

OpenAI's Sam Altman 'not that worried' about rival Elon Musk's influence in the Trump administration

NEW YORK (AP) -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk has also started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations.

OpenAI's Sam Altman 'Not That Worried' About Rival Elon Musk's Influence in the Trump Administration

NEW YORK (AP) -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk has also started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations. Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

OpenAI CEO 'not that worried' about Elon Musk's influence in Trump administration

NEW YORK -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully. Musk has also started his own rival AI company, xAI, that Altman said he considers a serious competitor. President-elect Donald Trump is putting Musk, the world's richest man, and Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur and former Republican presidential candidate, in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is an outside advisory committee that will work with people inside the government to reduce spending and regulations.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is 'not that worried' about Musk's influence in the Trump administration

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who is in a legal dispute with rival Elon Musk, said he is "not that worried" about Musk's influence in the incoming Trump administration. Altman told a New York Times conference Wednesday that he "may turn out to be wrong" but he strongly believes that Musk will do the right thing. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power, to the degree that Elon has it, to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said. "And I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it." Musk, an early OpenAI investor and board member, sued the artificial intelligence company earlier this year alleging that the maker of ChatGPT betrayed its founding aims of benefiting the public good rather than pursuing profits. Musk recently escalated the lawsuit by asking a federal judge to stop OpenAI's plans to convert itself into a for-profit business more fully.

Sam Altman has an Elon Musk and Donald Trump problem

Elon Musk's role in the coming Trump administration reportedly has some of his business rivals worried -- including his OpenAI co-founder, Sam Altman. In November, Musk expanded his lawsuit against the AI startup and several of its co-founders and added its investor and partner Microsoft (MSFT+1.73%) as a defendant. The expanded lawsuit accuses OpenAI of anticompetitive behavior, calling it a "market-paralyzing gorgon." Later in the month, Musk's attorneys filed a preliminary injunction against the AI startup, several of its co-founders, and Microsoft to stop its transition to a for-profit company. The expanded lawsuit and Musk's disdain for Altman (Musk has called Altman "Swindly Sam") made the OpenAI CEO feel "blindsided," the Wall Street Journal (NWSA+0.60%) reported, citing an unnamed person familiar with the matter. With Musk's close ties to President-elect Donald Trump, Altman and other tech leaders who have drawn Musk's ire, including Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos, are worried about the influence Musk will have on tech and business regulation, people told the Wall Street Journal. Musk has touted his coming role as co-lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with Vivek Ramaswamy under the coming administration -- a commission that will be charged with auditing the "entire" federal government. "It's known that he's PNG [persona non grata]," a person close to the Trump family told the Wall Street Journal about Altman. Meanwhile, Altman has reportedly reached out to his connections in Trump's circle, including the President-elect's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his brother, Joshua Kushner, head of major OpenAI investor Thrive Capital. Altman also reportedly asked a mutual friend to set up a meeting with Howard Lutnick, Trump's pick for commerce secretary. Neither OpenAI nor spokespeople for Trump or Musk immediately responded to a request for comment.

Sam Altman Isn't Worried About Elon Musk's Trump Ties, But Admits xAI Is A 'Really Serious Competitor' To OpenAI: 'Elon Will Do The Right Thing'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has downplayed concerns about former friend and now rival Elon Musk's political ties with President-elect Donald Trump but acknowledged that xAI is a formidable competitor. What Happened: During an interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday, Altman expressed confidence that Musk would not misuse political influence to harm competitors. "I may turn out to be wrong, but I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing," he stated, adding that it would be "profoundly un-American" for Musk to leverage political power against rivals. The OpenAI CEO also said that Musk's AI startup xAI is a "really serious competitor" to his company. See Also: BYD Surpassed Tesla In Quarterly Revenue For The First Time In Q3. It Assembles Over 30% Of iPads For Apple, And Is Now Planning To Build AI Robots For Nvidia Musk co-founded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 but left in 2018 due to a conflict of interest. "I have different feelings about him [Musk] now, but I'm still glad he exists," Altman stated. "Not just because I think his companies are awesome, which I do think, but because I think he, at a time when most of the world was not thinking very ambitiously, pushed a lot of people, me included, to think much more ambitiously," the CEO added. Subscribe to the Benzinga Tech Trends newsletter to get all the latest tech developments delivered to your inbox. Why It Matters: Musk contributed millions to Trump's presidential campaign and vigorously supported him both online and offline in Pennsylvania, a crucial swing state. He co-leads the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with cutting up to $2 trillion from the federal budget. Trump previously said that DOGE's work is expected to be completed by Jul. 4, 2026, at the latest. Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that Altman and other tech and business leaders targeted by Musk expressed concerns about his potential impact on regulation. Altman reportedly contacted his connections within Trump's inner circle, including Jared Kushner, the President-elect's son-in-law, and his brother Joshua Kushner, head of OpenAI investor Thrive Capital. Last week, Musk filed a court injunction to prevent OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity. This legal move follows Musk's earlier lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing ChatGPT-parent of prioritizing commercial interests over its original mission. OpenAI's valuation soared to $157 billion after securing $6.5 billion in funding. Last month, it was reported that Musk's xAI was seeking $6 billion in funding, aiming for a $50 billion valuation. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: Tesla CEO Elon Musk Agrees With Apple Co-Founder Steve Jobs On Guiding Talent: 'You Know Who The Best Managers Are?' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photos courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

OpenAI CEO Thinks Musk Won't Use Political Power Against Rivals

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman dismissed concerns that rival Elon Musk might use his newfound political influence to undercut competitors and benefit his own artificial intelligence efforts. "It would be profoundly un-American to use political power to hurt your competitors and advantage your own businesses," Altman said in an interview at the New York Times DealBook Summit on Wednesday. "I don't think people would tolerate that. I don't think Elon would do it."

Sam Altman brushes off Musk's influence in Trump administration amid tension

Sam Altman, the CEO of tech company OpenAI, brushed off tech billionaire Elon Musk's influence in the upcoming Trump administration, according to a Wednesday report from The New York Times. Altman pushed back in response to a notion about the possible utilization of a link with Trump by Musk for the targeting of OpenAI. "I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing and that it would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon would hurt competitors and advantage his own businesses," Altman said at The New York Times DealBook Summit, according to the Times. Musk and OpenAI have had a rocky history, with the Tesla head and artificial intelligence company recently being involved in a months-long legal saga that has featured Musk suing OpenAI multiple times. The tech billionaire founded OpenAI alongside Altman and Greg Brockman. Musk sued OpenAI, Altman and Brockman in August, alleging that they tricked him into backing their endeavor by making him believe that it would make safe and transparent artificial intelligence. Musk heavily backed Trump's bid for the presidency this year, coming on stage at multiple rallies and starting America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC, giving $118 million to the committee. Trump pulled Musk and his son into a family photo on Election Night, saying "We have to get Elon with his boy." He added that the tech billionaire's son was "gorgeous" and "perfect." The Hill has reached out to X and the Trump transition team for comment.

Elon Musk is ratcheting up his attacks on his old partner Sam Altman, calling him 'Swindly Sam' and OpenAI a 'market-paralyzing gorgon'

Once Elon Musk's cofounder, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is now at the top of Musk's "list of enemies" -- and he's not staying quiet about how much he resents him and his company. In an expanded version of a previous lawsuit, Musk called OpenAI a "market-paralyzing gorgon," the Wall Street Journal reported. He's also taken to calling Altman "Swindly Sam," a mocking nickname in the style of his new closest ally, President-elect Donald Trump. Musk and Altman have had a tense relationship since the Tesla CEO left OpenAI in 2018. As OpenAI puts it, Musk said at the time that the team's "probability of success was 0, and that he planned to build an AGI competitor within Tesla." A year before he left, OpenAI had rejected Musk's offer to take control of the company, despite him being the biggest source of its funding. Since then, Musk has founded his own AI company, xAI. Musk in March sued Altman and ChatGPT-maker OpenAI for allegedly violating the nonprofit principles the company was founded on, in part because it struck a multi-billion-dollar agreement with Microsoft. OpenAI has since switched to a "capped" for-profit enterprise. Musk asked a judge Friday to prevent OpenAI's efforts to become a fully for-profit business, CNBC reported. After a friendly chat with Altman around a fire pit at a technology conference in Montana, Musk dropped his original lawsuit against OpenAI, the Journal reported, but he refiled it in August. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Fortune's request for comment. Now the pair's relationship is seemingly at an all-time-low just as Musk has garnered major influence with Trump, which could affect OpenAI's prospects in terms of regulation. As one of the former president's biggest funders during the 2024 election cycle, Musk has gained significant influence with Trump. The Tesla CEO was named co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, which will advise the government on how to drastically cut spending. Musk has even sat in on calls with foreign leaders and backed allies for regulator positions that oversee his companies. While Altman has tried to make friendly contact with the incoming Trump administration through contacts such as Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and his brother, Josh Kushner, whose VC firm Thrive Capital has invested in OpenAI, his bad relationship with Musk complicates things, the Journal reported. "I don't trust OpenAI. I don't trust Sam Altman. And I don't think we ought to have the most powerful AI in the world controlled by someone who is not trustworthy," he told former Fox host Tucker Carlson in October.

Sam Altman backs Donald Trump to help America defeat China in AI race

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is the latest tech CEO to line up in support of President-elect Donald Trump. As the AI race and rally continues, Altman is placing his faith in the repeat president, saying he believes Trump will champion American artificial intelligence. Like many other Big Tech CEOs, Altman has been vocal about the need for the U.S. to stay ahead of Chinese rivals in key technologies, including AI. Posting his congratulations to Trump following the Republican candidate's re-election last month, Altman added in a post on X: "It is critically important that the U.S. maintains its lead in developing AI with democratic values." In an interview over the weekend, Altman was optimistic on this point: "Infrastructure in the United States is super important. AI is a little bit different than other kinds of software in that it requires massive amounts of infrastructure: power, computer chips, data centres. "We need to build that here and we need to have the best AI infrastructure in the world to be able to lead with the technology and the capabilities." "I believe President-elect Trump will be very good at that," Altman told Fox Business on Sunday. "I look forward to working with his administration on it. "It does seem to us like this is going to be very important, it does seem like this'll be one of these unusually important moments in history of technology and we very much believe that the United States and our allies need to lead this." Of course, Altman isn't the only Big Tech CEO pitching his case to the incoming administration. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has long been at the front of the queue, while the likes of Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg have more recently met with the Trump team. Unluckily for Altman, Trump's new chief Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) officer is something of a nemesis. Musk -- who donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the Trump campaign and has been awarded the government department and a turnaround on EV rhetoric as a result -- has been a persistent critic of OpenAI and Altman. Let's not forget that the richest man in the world was one of the founders of OpenAI, but after leaving the business, he went on to launch a rival and then sued the business he helped launch. Another issue on Altman's agenda will be Vice President-elect JD Vance. Vance has previously questioned whether major players like OpenAI and Meta are calling for regulation because they believe it will ultimately benefit them. Regulations might, Vance fears, block new entrants from coming into the artificial intelligence markets and simply act to solidify some of the players already leading the game. Altman, whose work at OpenAI has now made him a billionaire, countered that his business was "the little up-and-comer very recently." While it's true that OpenAI is some way off the multi-trillion market caps of the Magnificent 7, its rivals may raise eyebrows at Altman's humility -- after all, this is a business that has received billions of dollars from Microsoft. "I think it's very important to the American innovation economy and our position in the world that we allow our small companies to do what they do," Altman continued. "I think one of the most special things about this country is our ability to repeatedly lead the way on innovation and repeatedly figure the future of technology, of science, of progress and benefit from the enormous growth that happens with that." Indeed, the 39-year-old CEO even seemed to support Vance's view that regulation must not hamper grassroots innovation, adding, "We really as a country don't want to do anything to impede our smaller companies or make it more difficult for them."

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Downplays Dangers of A.I. and Elon Musk

Sam Altman has played down the threat posed by artificial intelligence, saying the technology would be able to mirror the capability of humans sooner than the average person realizes but would "matter much less" than many predicted. The chief executive of OpenAI told The New York Times's DealBook conference in New York City that the company would release increasingly powerful technologies over the next 12 months and hinted that it could achieve artificial general intelligence, when a machine can do almost anything a human brain can, in the next few years. But he pushed back against the gloomy warnings about the threat A.I. posed. "A lot of the safety concerns that we and others expressed actually don't come at the A.G.I. moment," he said, adding that the technology would significantly accelerate economic growth. Mr. Altman's comments are deeply intertwined with OpenAI's ability to survive as a business. The company's largest investor is Microsoft, which has pumped more than $13 billion into the start-up and holds an exclusive license to use OpenAI's raw A.I. technologies. But tensions have risen in recent months, and the contract between the two companies says that Microsoft would lose this license if OpenAI's board unilaterally decides that it has created an A.G.I. OpenAI also faces growing competition from several rivals, including Elon Musk and his start-up xAI. Mr. Musk co-founded OpenAI as a not-for-profit entity before falling out with Mr. Altman. But he has sued the company, accusing it of putting commercial interests ahead of the public good, and violating the company's founding charter. Mr. Altman said he was "tremendously sad" about the rising tensions between the two one-time collaborators. "I grew up with Elon as like a mega hero," he said. But he rejected suggestions that Mr. Musk could use his increasingly close relationship with President-elect Trump to harm OpenAI. "I believe pretty strongly that Elon will do the right thing and that it would be profoundly un-American to use political power to the degree that Elon would hurt competitors and advantage his own businesses," he said. OpenAI ignited an A.I. investment boom in late 2022 with the release of ChatGPT, its chatbot, spurring venture capitalists and big tech companies to pour billions of dollars into the field. In October, OpenAI closed a $6.6 billion fund-raising deal that nearly doubled its valuation to $157 billion. (The Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in December 2023 for copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The companies deny the claims.) Even so, OpenAI expects to lose roughly $5 billion because of the high costs related to developing A.I. and may need to raise more money. To make itself more attractive to investors, OpenAI is working to turn itself into a for-profit enterprise. Mr. Musk's lawsuit claims that OpenAI, Mr. Altman and Greg Brockman, another co-founder, breached the company's founding contract and his lawyers want to block the company from transforming itself into a for-profit company. Mr. Musk's suit also argues that OpenAI has illegally tried to prevent its investors from also putting money into xAI. Mr. Altman said this was "incorrect." But he indicated that OpenAI has worked to ensure that its private research is not shared with competitors.

OpenAI's Altman confident Trump will keep US in AI lead

WASHINGTON (AFP) - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Sunday expressed confidence that US President-elect Donald Trump's administration would support the artificial intelligence sector to ensure the United States and its allies continue to lead it. Speaking to conservative US broadcaster Fox News on Sunday, Altman said AI technology needed massive infrastructure support and that he believed Trump would be good at providing it. "We need to build that here and we need to be able to have the best AI infrastructure in the world to be able to lead with the technology and the capabilities," he said. "I believe President-elect Trump will be very good at that." Altman was responding to a question on the United States' competition with China on AI, adding "we very much believe that the United States and our allies need to lead this." The infrastructure that AI technology requires includes huge amounts of electricity, as well as large data centers and technological support in the form of access to advanced semiconductors and computer chips. Altman also said the US Congress needs to pass legislation that erects safeguards for the use of artificial intelligence. "I think, yes. At some point, when it is, what form it should be, I don't know when that will happen," he said, responding to a question. "I think it should be a question for society. Like, it should not be OpenAI gets to decide on its own how ChatGPT or how the technology in general is used or not used." OpenAI has seen its profile skyrocket over recent years as it has become a star player in the growing field of artificial intelligence. Billionaire Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but has since left it, has asked a US court to stop the company from converting into a for-profit enterprise, US media reported on Saturday.

OpenAI's Altman confident Trump will keep US in AI lead

Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, arrives for a bipartisan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Insight Forum for all U.S. senators hosted by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Sept. 13, 2023. Reuters-Yonhap OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Sunday expressed confidence that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's administration would support the artificial intelligence sector to ensure the United States and its allies continue to lead it. Speaking to conservative U.S. broadcaster Fox News on Sunday, Altman said AI technology needed massive infrastructure support and that he believed Trump would be good at providing it. "We need to build that here and we need to be able to have the best AI infrastructure in the world to be able to lead with the technology and the capabilities," he said. "I believe President-elect Trump will be very good at that." Altman was responding to a question on the United States' competition with China on AI, adding "we very much believe that the United States and our allies need to lead this." The infrastructure that AI technology requires includes huge amounts of electricity, as well as large data centers and technological support in the form of access to advanced semiconductors and computer chips. Altman also said the U.S. Congress needs to pass legislation that erects safeguards for the use of artificial intelligence. "I think, yes. At some point, when it is, what form it should be, I don't know when that will happen," he said, responding to a question. "I think it should be a question for society. Like, it should not be OpenAI gets to decide on its own how ChatGPT or how the technology in general is used or not used." OpenAI has seen its profile skyrocket over recent years as it has become a star player in the growing field of artificial intelligence. Billionaire Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but has since left it, has asked a U.S. court to stop the company from converting into a for-profit enterprise, U.S. media reported on Saturday. (AFP)

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Confident in Trump's Support for AI: Report

Elon Musk seeks to block OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Sunday expressed confidence that US President-elect Donald Trump's administration would support the artificial intelligence (AI) sector to ensure the United States and its allies continue to lead it. Speaking to US broadcaster Fox News on Sunday, Altman said AI technology needed massive infrastructure support and that he believed Trump would be good at providing it. Also Read: OpenAI Targets 1 Billion Users by 2025 with AI Innovations and Apple Partnership: Report Competition in AI and Global Leadership "Infrastructure in the United States is super important. AI is a little bit different than other kinds of software in that it requires massive amounts of infrastructure: power, computer chips, data centers. And we need to build that here, and we need to be able to have the best AI infrastructure in the world to be able to lead with the technology and the capabilities. I believe President Trump will be very good at that, and I look forward to working with his administration on it," he said. Altman was responding to a question on the United States' competition with China on AI, adding It does seem to us like this is going to be a very important moment in the history of technology, and "we very much believe that the United States and our allies need to lead this." The infrastructure that AI technology requires includes huge amounts of electricity, as well as large data centers and technological support in the form of access to advanced semiconductors and computer chips. Need for Legislative Safeguards Altman also said the US Congress needs to pass legislation that erects safeguards for the use of artificial intelligence. "I think, yes. At some point, when it is, what form it should be, I don't know when that will happen," he said, responding to a question. "I think it should be a question for society. Like, it should not be OpenAI gets to decide on its own how ChatGPT or how the technology in general is used or not used." Altman, responding to a question about the current best guess and worst-case scenarios that could arise from AI, said, "Society's been through things like this many, many times. You know, we've been through the Industrial Revolution, we've been through the computer revolution. One thing that I think you can learn studying history is it's not always obvious what the pluses and minuses are going to be." Also Read: Orange Partners With OpenAI and Meta to Expand AI Models for African Regional Languages Positive Impact of AI Talking about the current best-case guess, Altman said, "On the plus side, people are using these tools already today as AI medical advisers. You hear from people who couldn't diagnose some disease they had and they had all these weird symptoms, and ChatGPT helped them. You hear from people who are using this as like an AI tutor. They're learning things they couldn't learn before. You hear people who are using this to help around their small businesses -- really wonderful things. This is a tool that magnifies human ability in all these ways. I think we're at the very early innings of that, and we'll see incredible things. There are hundreds of millions of people using this already. There will be billions, and like with any other tool, people will be able to do things they just couldn't do before, and that really is, I think, how the world and society get better and better." "On the downside, you know, to get right at it, I'm sure this will impact jobs -- many jobs. It'll make better and more productive, but some, it'll make worse, and some will go away entirely. You can imagine cybersecurity incidents with these models, where people use them to hack into systems. You can imagine our adversaries getting a hold of these and it being a national security issue. So, I think we have a lot of work to do, and we really need to stand lead," Altman added. Also Read: OpenAI Raises USD 6.6 Billion to Accelerate AI Research and Expansion Community Concerns Responding to a question about concerns regarding the impact of AI developments on the lives of communities, Altman said, "First of all, we are making enormous efficiency gains, so the idea that you need all the energy on Earth probably won't be true. One thing we hear again and again is some communities don't want data centers or chip fabs or new power plants. And some really do. The United States is a gigantic country, and there will be plenty of room to do this." Autonomous Decision Making Capability Responding to a question about the current status of AI making its own autonomous decisions, Altman said, Maybe right now, you can give it a 5-second task without supervision, and eventually, you give it a five-minute task, and then a 5-hour task, and then a 5-day task, and maybe someday, it can go do a five-month task, and that's like, you know, a full scientist off exploring something. But I think it'll feel more like that. It'll feel more like an increasingly senior coworker -- not one moment it was not autonomous, and then one moment it was." Elon Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but has since departed, has requested a US court to prevent the company from transitioning into a for-profit entity, according to reports from US media on Saturday.

OpenAI CEO Altman says looking forward to working with Trump- Fox By Investing.com

Investing.com-- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Sunday that he is looking forward to working with the incoming Donald Trump administration, and that the U.S. would be able to build the best artificial intelligence infrastructure under Trump. Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Altman highlighted the high infrastructure requirements of AI, particularly energy and data centres, and that the U.S. would need to have the best infrastructure in the world to lead the industry. He said Trump would be good at building that. Recent reports suggested that Trump was planning to appoint an "AI czar" in the White House to oversee the fast-growing industry. Trump has also repeatedly expressed support for AI and has called for the U.S. to further its lead in the industry. Altman's comments come as a slew of major technology heads express support for Trump. Most notably, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk was heavily involved in campaigning for the President-elect. Trump said will Musk will co-lead a new body aimed at streamlining government agencies.