According to a report, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman compared the company's work on artificial intelligence to the Manhattan Project, which developed the first nuclear weapons during World War II. Altman made the comparison in a 2019 interview with the New York Times, stating that the US effort to build an atomic bomb had been a "project on the scale of OpenAI - the level of ambition we aspire to." OpenAI is behind GPT-4, the latest deep learning model from the company that "exhibits human-level performance on various professional and academic benchmarks." However, after the release of the powerful AI system, over 2,000 tech experts and leaders across the world signed a letter calling for a pause on research at AI labs, specifically demanding an immediate "pause for at least 6 months" on "the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4." Altman, along with other tech leaders such as Elon Musk and Steve Wozniak, has warned about the unbridled hype over AI, stating that it is currently "out of control." The Musk-backed letter is calling for a pause to give the AI labs and policymakers space to create safeguards and rules on artificial intelligence.
Despite being optimistic about the future growth of AI, Altman has also expressed agreement with opposing views on AI. Kelly Sims, a partner with the venture capital firm Thrive Capital who worked with Altman as an adviser at OpenAI, told the New York Times that "in a single conversation, he is both sides of the debate club." The open letter signed by tech experts and leaders emphasizes the need for joint development and implementation of safety protocols for advanced AI design and development, as well as the rollout of robust AI governance systems. OpenAI did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for additional comment on Altman's comparison of OpenAI's work to the Manhattan Project.