6 ms·

Reminds me of SBF calling for crypto regulations while running FTX. Being seen as friendly to regulations is great for optics compared to being belligerently an

Reminds me of SBF calling for crypto regulations while running FTX. Being seen as friendly to regulations is great for optics compared to being belligerently anti-regulation. You can appear responsible and benevolent, and get more opportunity to weaken regulation by controlling more of the narrative. And hey, if you get end up getting some regulatory capture making competition harder, that's a great benefit too. OpenAI != FTX, just meaning to say calling for regulation isn't an indication of good intentions, despite sounding like it.

thrway345772 3y ago
FWIW, OpenAI and FTX leadership share the same ideology
- seattle_spring 3y ago
  Which ideology is that? Only thing I've heard about is "ruthless altruism" or something like that.
  - to11mtm 3y ago
    "Effective Altruism", which sounds nice but when you look at it from the right angle it's just a form of 'public lobbying' rather than direct government lobbying. "Oh, this person donated X/Y to Z/Q causes! They can't be that bad right?"
- tern 3y ago
  This is mostly not true in my experience
- peepeepoopoo5 3y ago
  oy vey
- zapataband1 3y ago
  Make money and try to acquire a monopoly?
- biggoodwolf 3y ago
  This is disappointing, I expected a bit more from OpenAI than to fall for the nerd snipe that is EA.
JumpCrisscross 3y ago
> Reminds me of SBF calling for crypto regulations while running FTX Scott Galloway called it the stop-me-before-I-kill-grandma defence. (Paraphrasing.) You made money making a thing. You continue to make the thing. You’re telling us how the thing will bring doom and gloom if not dealt with (conveniently implying it will change the world). And you want to staff the regulatory body you call for with the very butchers you’re castigating.
- bick_nyers 3y ago
  Sure, I get it, but if Sam Altman quit tomorrow, would it stop Economic Competition -> Microsoft Shareholders -> Microsoft -> OpenAI? Is there really a better alternative here?
- m00x 3y ago
  Except they don't make any money from their products. They're losing hundreds of millions per month. This isn't the same at all.
  - mola 3y ago
    Well, this will give em time. Right now LLM have become a commodity. Everybody is got them and can research and develoo them. OpenAI is without a product, it has no advantage. But if the general public will be limited. It'll be hard to catch up to openAI. I'm sry for the cynicism, but Altman seems very much disingenuous with this.
    - hammyhavoc 3y ago
      OpenAI is currently registered as a non-profit, yet they're projecting a billion dollars in revenue in 2024, and they sell access to their APIs, which if their previous spending is anything to go by, means they'll see half a billion dollars in profit if we assume they aren't going to reinvest it all. Some big assumptions.
      - happytiger 3y ago
Barrin92 3y ago
Neither is it an indication of bad intentions and I don't even think SBF was dishonest, his general behavior doesn't exactly suggest he's some Machiavellian mastermind. This is always the first comment when someone in an industry talks about regulation but it doesn't change the fact that it's needed and they're essentially right regardless of what motivations they have.
- JumpCrisscross 3y ago
  Altman is simultaneously pumping a crypto project [1]. [1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/worldcoin-chatgpt-sam-altman-ethereum-crypto-141735067.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/worldcoin-chatgpt-sam-altman-ethe...
  - Filligree 3y ago
    Which is sufficient reason to avoid OpenAI now, frankly.
  - wellthisisgreat 3y ago
    It’s a disgrace
    - lubesGordi 3y ago
      I think the idea is that you need some way to filter out the bots, so 'worldcoin' or 'worldid' is used to prove 'personhood'.
      - wellthisisgreat 3y ago
        here is a shocking point of view - bots are a non-issue compared to some entity amassing biometric scans of people. And are even more of a non-issue if you sprinkle that biometric thing with crypto-currency. Then it gets even better (worse) when it's lead by a person who is all about breaking promises ("Open" ai), using fear-mongering (LLM are so dangerous, the world will collapse!) and using regulatory capture as long as it makes him money.
lylejantzi3rd 3y ago
> get more opportunity to weaken regulation by controlling more of the narrative You've got it backwards. I bet OpenAI wants those regulations to be as restrictive as possible. They'll just negotiate an exception for themselves. With increased regulation comes an increased initial cost for competitors to get started in the space. They want to lock down their near monopoly as soon as they can.
- sebzim4500 3y ago
  I'm sure this is the plan, but I don't see how OpenAI will be able to damage e.g. Anthropic without equally damaging themselves.
  - runako 3y ago
    It's not just about Anthropic & other 10-figure companies, it's about ensuring an oligopoly instead of a market with cutthroat competition.
    - greiskul 3y ago
      Exactly. They want to have AI as a service. If any startup could do it's own AI on the cheap, this would not be possible (or at least not so profitable). They don't mind having other big competitors, they think they can win over big competitors with their marketing and first mover advantage.
bparsons 3y ago
This is also a way for industry incumbents to pull up the ladder behind them. Once you gain the lead position, it is in your interest to increase the barriers to entry as much as possible.
stuckkeys 3y ago
Just waiting for the Forbes cover to drop, then I can confirm we are doomed. lol
variant 3y ago
> OpenAI != FTX, just meaning to say calling for regulation isn't an indication of good intentions, despite sounding like it. I'd argue that any business advocating for regulation is largely motivated by its own pursuit of regulatory capture.
- stingraycharles 3y ago
  Didn’t Facebook / Meta also do something similar during the whole “fake news” controversy? https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/15/facebook-ceo-zuckerberg-calls-for-more-government-regulation-online-content.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/15/facebook-ceo-zuckerberg-call...
asdfman123 3y ago
FB ran TV ads asking for regulation too. What established player doesn’t want to make it as hard as possible to compete with them?
lweitrju39p4rj 3y ago
[flagged]
graderjs 3y ago
Or Zuck calling for more regulations of social networks? I mean, I guess there’s always that play: maybe Sam Altman is simply feigning enthusiasm for this to head off a burgeoning regulatory coup: how can he mobilize support against the regulations He doesn’t want? What would be a great way to galvanize support against the regulations? Maybe by doing exactly what he’s doing: by falling on his sword, and making himself seem like a monopolistic supporter of those? Sacrificing his reputation for the greater good of open competition on AI? Well, that’s a truly noble move. It’s a bit of a stretch, but maybe it’s very Washington I don’t know. A more logical (economic) motivation may be: this news is taken as a threat, in effect creating a sense of scarcity around AI, which could be judged to provoke people into buying more of OpenAI's subscriptions, training, or whatever, to ensure access that, in light of such news, they may now feel is at risk. So, the move is merely a red herring, a fabricated threat designed to provoke people to spend, not intended to actually create legislation. Don't know which one of these is more likely if any: or maybe Sama is simply living his best life role playing as a super villain? I guess he's starting to remind me of Niander Wallace in Bladerunner 2049
dicknuckle 3y ago
I've been seeing almost weekly posts recently like "I just got out of a meeting where my company plans to replace X people with an AI that does their job for $XX/mo" The fearmongering and astroturfing is obvious.
srslack 3y ago
It's all pretty much the same less wrong-effective altruist-crypto grifter-San Francisco sex cult community. sama still grifting with worldcoin, and even before this.

thrway345772 3y ago

FWIW, OpenAI and FTX leadership share the same ideology

seattle_spring 3y ago
Which ideology is that? Only thing I've heard about is "ruthless altruism" or something like that.
- to11mtm 3y ago
  "Effective Altruism", which sounds nice but when you look at it from the right angle it's just a form of 'public lobbying' rather than direct government lobbying. "Oh, this person donated X/Y to Z/Q causes! They can't be that bad right?"
tern 3y ago
This is mostly not true in my experience
peepeepoopoo5 3y ago
oy vey
zapataband1 3y ago
Make money and try to acquire a monopoly?
biggoodwolf 3y ago
This is disappointing, I expected a bit more from OpenAI than to fall for the nerd snipe that is EA.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago

> Reminds me of SBF calling for crypto regulations while running FTX Scott Galloway called it the stop-me-before-I-kill-grandma defence. (Paraphrasing.) You made money making a thing. You continue to make the thing. You’re telling us how the thing will bring doom and gloom if not dealt with (conveniently implying it will change the world). And you want to staff the regulatory body you call for with the very butchers you’re castigating.

bick_nyers 3y ago
Sure, I get it, but if Sam Altman quit tomorrow, would it stop Economic Competition -> Microsoft Shareholders -> Microsoft -> OpenAI? Is there really a better alternative here?
m00x 3y ago
Except they don't make any money from their products. They're losing hundreds of millions per month. This isn't the same at all.
- mola 3y ago
  Well, this will give em time. Right now LLM have become a commodity. Everybody is got them and can research and develoo them. OpenAI is without a product, it has no advantage. But if the general public will be limited. It'll be hard to catch up to openAI. I'm sry for the cynicism, but Altman seems very much disingenuous with this.
  - hammyhavoc 3y ago
    OpenAI is currently registered as a non-profit, yet they're projecting a billion dollars in revenue in 2024, and they sell access to their APIs, which if their previous spending is anything to go by, means they'll see half a billion dollars in profit if we assume they aren't going to reinvest it all. Some big assumptions.
    - happytiger 3y ago

Barrin92 3y ago

Neither is it an indication of bad intentions and I don't even think SBF was dishonest, his general behavior doesn't exactly suggest he's some Machiavellian mastermind. This is always the first comment when someone in an industry talks about regulation but it doesn't change the fact that it's needed and they're essentially right regardless of what motivations they have.

JumpCrisscross 3y ago
Altman is simultaneously pumping a crypto project [1]. [1] https://www.yahoo.com/news/worldcoin-chatgpt-sam-altman-ethereum-crypto-141735067.html https://www.yahoo.com/news/worldcoin-chatgpt-sam-altman-ethe...
- Filligree 3y ago
  Which is sufficient reason to avoid OpenAI now, frankly.
- wellthisisgreat 3y ago
  It’s a disgrace
  - lubesGordi 3y ago
    I think the idea is that you need some way to filter out the bots, so 'worldcoin' or 'worldid' is used to prove 'personhood'.
    - wellthisisgreat 3y ago
      here is a shocking point of view - bots are a non-issue compared to some entity amassing biometric scans of people. And are even more of a non-issue if you sprinkle that biometric thing with crypto-currency. Then it gets even better (worse) when it's lead by a person who is all about breaking promises ("Open" ai), using fear-mongering (LLM are so dangerous, the world will collapse!) and using regulatory capture as long as it makes him money.

lylejantzi3rd 3y ago

> get more opportunity to weaken regulation by controlling more of the narrative You've got it backwards. I bet OpenAI wants those regulations to be as restrictive as possible. They'll just negotiate an exception for themselves. With increased regulation comes an increased initial cost for competitors to get started in the space. They want to lock down their near monopoly as soon as they can.

sebzim4500 3y ago
I'm sure this is the plan, but I don't see how OpenAI will be able to damage e.g. Anthropic without equally damaging themselves.
- runako 3y ago
  It's not just about Anthropic & other 10-figure companies, it's about ensuring an oligopoly instead of a market with cutthroat competition.
  - greiskul 3y ago
    Exactly. They want to have AI as a service. If any startup could do it's own AI on the cheap, this would not be possible (or at least not so profitable). They don't mind having other big competitors, they think they can win over big competitors with their marketing and first mover advantage.

bparsons 3y ago

This is also a way for industry incumbents to pull up the ladder behind them. Once you gain the lead position, it is in your interest to increase the barriers to entry as much as possible.

stuckkeys 3y ago

Just waiting for the Forbes cover to drop, then I can confirm we are doomed. lol

variant 3y ago

> OpenAI != FTX, just meaning to say calling for regulation isn't an indication of good intentions, despite sounding like it. I'd argue that any business advocating for regulation is largely motivated by its own pursuit of regulatory capture.

stingraycharles 3y ago
Didn’t Facebook / Meta also do something similar during the whole “fake news” controversy? https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/15/facebook-ceo-zuckerberg-calls-for-more-government-regulation-online-content.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/15/facebook-ceo-zuckerberg-call...

asdfman123 3y ago

FB ran TV ads asking for regulation too. What established player doesn’t want to make it as hard as possible to compete with them?

lweitrju39p4rj 3y ago

[flagged]

graderjs 3y ago

Or Zuck calling for more regulations of social networks? I mean, I guess there’s always that play: maybe Sam Altman is simply feigning enthusiasm for this to head off a burgeoning regulatory coup: how can he mobilize support against the regulations He doesn’t want? What would be a great way to galvanize support against the regulations? Maybe by doing exactly what he’s doing: by falling on his sword, and making himself seem like a monopolistic supporter of those? Sacrificing his reputation for the greater good of open competition on AI? Well, that’s a truly noble move. It’s a bit of a stretch, but maybe it’s very Washington I don’t know. A more logical (economic) motivation may be: this news is taken as a threat, in effect creating a sense of scarcity around AI, which could be judged to provoke people into buying more of OpenAI's subscriptions, training, or whatever, to ensure access that, in light of such news, they may now feel is at risk. So, the move is merely a red herring, a fabricated threat designed to provoke people to spend, not intended to actually create legislation. Don't know which one of these is more likely if any: or maybe Sama is simply living his best life role playing as a super villain? I guess he's starting to remind me of Niander Wallace in Bladerunner 2049

dicknuckle 3y ago

I've been seeing almost weekly posts recently like "I just got out of a meeting where my company plans to replace X people with an AI that does their job for $XX/mo" The fearmongering and astroturfing is obvious.

srslack 3y ago

It's all pretty much the same less wrong-effective altruist-crypto grifter-San Francisco sex cult community. sama still grifting with worldcoin, and even before this.