'AI is not very popular in the US right now,' OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said.
He explained that the industry is dealing with several challenges that could slow down the adoption of AI.
'Data centres are getting blamed for electricity price hikes. Almost every company that does layoffs is blaming AI, whether or not it really is about AI,' he said.
Sam Altman OpenAI
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said that AI is currently facing issues in the US. Speaking at the BlackRock US Infrastructure Summit in Washington, DC, Altman said, ‘AI is not very popular in the US right now.’ He explained that the industry is dealing with several challenges that could slow down the adoption of AI.
According to Altman, one of the key issues is that AI is getting blamed for problems that may not always be directly related to it. ‘Data centres are getting blamed for electricity price hikes. Almost every company that does layoffs is blaming AI, whether or not it really is about AI,’ he said, reports Business Insider. ‘There’s this real debate about the relative power between governments and companies going on.’
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Public opinion surveys also reflect these concerns. A recent poll by NBC News found that 57 per cent of voters believe the risks of AI are greater than its benefits. Another study conducted by the Pew Research Centre revealed that half of US adults feel more worried than excited about the increasing use of AI.
OpenAI has also been part of the debate recently. The company signed a deal with the United States Department of Defense shortly after the agency effectively restricted its rival Anthropic from working with it.
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Altman warned that political headwinds could affect the US in the global race for AI leadership. He said the US currently leads China in AI development, but maintaining that lead will require faster adoption across industries.
‘If we don’t move as quickly as other countries on economic adoption of this, then I think we will lose the advantage that we have from being the economic powerhouse that we are,’ he said. ‘And this is about how quickly companies adopt it. This is about how quickly our scientists adopt this, how quickly our government adopts it.’
Despite the challenges, Altman believes AI could still transform the economy. ‘I think this is a once in many generation opportunity to really improve the economy,’ he said, ‘really rewrite some of the rules of society that aren’t working in light of this new incredible wealth fountain we have.’
