Altman: OpenAI and Anthropic differ fundamentally

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, told POLITICO there is a real divide between his company and rival Anthropic over how to regulate artificial intelligence.

“I think there is a real divide”

The core difference on AI risks

Altman said OpenAI believes the world should accept negative consequences from AI technology in exchange for its benefits, distinguishing his firm from Anthropic's approach.

“We think that the world should accept that certain negative things will happen in light of the benefits of this technology.”

Anthropic's regulatory stance

Anthropic, led by Dario Amodei, has long been the strongest advocate for AI regulation in the sector, a position that contrasted with OpenAI's looser approach until recently.

OpenAI shifts toward stricter rules

OpenAI has recently supported stricter state laws and a bipartisan House proposal requiring independent auditors to assess model safety, marking a shift from its previous regulatory strategy.

Altman rejects concentrated control

Altman said he rejects the idea that one San Francisco lab should control powerful AI and prevent all harms, calling it a totally unacceptable compromise.

“I will not make the compromise of saying we will make sure there are no major hacks, no misuse of this technology, zero fraud or anything else negative that could happen.”

Altman dismisses catastrophic AI risks

The OpenAI CEO said he does not believe in truly catastrophic risks from AI, including the possibility of serious loss of control over the technology.

Anthropic defends its regulatory proposals

An Anthropic spokesperson said the company's regulatory proposals apply only to cutting-edge models and are designed to disadvantage leading AI firms while favoring smaller competitors.

“Anthropic has always formulated its policy proposals with great care. We really try to present proposals that disadvantage frontier AI companies while favoring their smaller competitors.”