Weeks after OpenAI released its ChatGPT chatbot last year, Sam Altmanthe CEO of the artificial intelligence startup, launched a lobbying campaign in Washington.
He demonstrated ChatGPT at a breakfast with more than 20 lawmakers in the Capitol. He called for AI to be regulated in private meetings with Republican and Democratic congressional leaders. Overall, according to lawmakers and the Biden administration, Mr. Altman has discussed the rapidly evolving technology with at least 100 members of Congress, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris and cabinet members in the White House.
“It’s so refreshing,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat and chair of a panel that was taking place an AI hearing last month with Mr. Altman. “He was willing, able and eager.”
Technology executives have typically shunned the limelight of state regulators and legislatures. In recent years, only threats of subpoenas and public humiliation have persuaded Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, and Google’s Sundar Pichai to testify before Congress.
But Mr. Altman, 38, has rushed into the limelight and captured the attention of lawmakers in a way that has thawed icy attitudes towards Silicon Valley companies. He initiated meetings and took the opportunity testified in the Senate hearing last month. And rather than protesting the regulations, he has urged lawmakers to enact sweeping rules to hold the tech accountable.
Mr. Altman has also taken his show traveling, delivering a similar message about AI on a 17-city tour of South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. In recent weeks he has met with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“We believe government intervention will be critical to mitigating the risks of increasingly powerful models,” Mr. Altman said at last month’s Senate hearing.
His charm offensive has given him an important influence point. By working with lawmakers early on, Mr. Altman is shaping the debate over the governance of AI and enlightening Washington on the complexities of the technology, especially amid growing fears about it. Drawing on recent history, he also works to sidestep the pitfalls facing social media companies, which are a constant target of lawmakers, and pave the way for AI
His actions could help cement OpenAI’s position at the forefront of a debate on AI regulation. Microsoft, Google, IBM and AI startups have all aligned on the proposed rules and differ on how much government interference they want in their industries. The splits have prompted other tech chiefs to take their grievances to the Biden administration, members of Congress and global regulators.
So far, Mr. Altman’s strategy seems to be working. US lawmakers have turned to him as an educator and advisor. Last month, he briefed dozens of members of the Senate Special Committee on Intelligence and the AI faction of the House of Representatives on ChatGPT. He suggested creating one independent regulator for AI, technology licensing and security standards.
“I have a lot of respect for Sam,” said Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, who invited Mr. Altman to dinner with more than a dozen other senators last month.
But how long this goodwill can last is uncertain. Some lawmakers warned against over-reliance on Mr. Altman and other technology leaders Let them know about the explosion of new AI technologies.
“He seems different, and it was nice for him to testify,” said Senator Josh Hawley, the ranking Republican in the Senate hearing. “But I don’t think we should praise his company too much just yet.”
OpenAI said that with the benefit of learning from the tech industry’s past mistakes, it hopes to bridge the AI knowledge gap between Silicon Valley and Washington and help shape regulations.
“We don’t want this to be like previous technological revolutions,” said Anna Makanju, head of public policy at OpenAI, who leads a small team of five policy experts. Mr. Altman, she said, “knows this is an important time, so he tries to say yes to as many meetings of this nature as possible.”
Mr. Altman has been sounding the alarm about the potential risks of AI while speaking about the technology for years. While running startup incubator Y Combinator in 2015, he co-founded OpenAI with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and others. He wrote in a blog post at the time that governments should regulate the most powerful tools of AI
“In an ideal world, regulation would slow down the bad and speed up the good,” he said wrote.
Mr Altman has long argued that it is better to engage with regulators early, Ms Makanju said.
In 2018 when OpenAI released a statement of its mission, it pledged to prioritize safety, which required involving regulators, Ms Makanju said. When the company released DALL-E, an AI tool that creates images from text commands, in 2021, the company sent its chief scientist Ilya Sutskever to present the technology to lawmakers.
In January, Mr. Altman traveled to Washington to speak with congressmen at a confidential breakfast hosted by the Aspen Institute. He answered questions and gave a preview GPT-4, the new AI engine from OpenAI, which he said was equipped with better security features.
Mr. Altman has surprised some lawmakers with his openness about the risks of AI. Meeting with California Rep. Ted Lieu at the OpenAI offices in San Francisco in March, Altman said AI could have a devastating impact on work, shortening the work week from five days to one.
“He’s very direct,” said Mr. Lieu, who has a degree in computer science.
Mr. Altman revisited Washington in early May a white house Meeting with Ms. Harris and the CEOs of Microsoft, Google and AI start-up Anthropic. During the trip, he also discussed regulatory ideas and concerns about AI development in China with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Majority Leader.
In mid-May, Mr. Altman returned for a two-day marathon of public and private appearances with lawmakers, beginning with a dinner hosted by Mr. Lieu and Rep. Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, with 60 members of the House in the Capitol. Over a buffet of fried chicken, potatoes and salad, he wowed the audience for two and a half hours by showing ChatGPT and answering questions.
“Write a bill naming a post office after Rep. Ted Lieu,” he typed into the ChatGPT prompt that appeared on a large screen, according to Mr. Lieu. “Write a speech for Rep. Mike Johnson introducing the bill,” he wrote as a second prompt.
The answers were compelling, Mr. Lieu said, eliciting laughter and raised eyebrows from the audience.
The next morning, Mr. Altman testified at the Senate hearing on the risks of AI. He presented a list of regulatory ideas and supported proposals from lawmakers, including Mr. Blumenthal’s idea of consumer risk labels on AI tools that would be similar to nutrition labels on food.
“I’m so used to witnesses coming in and trying to convince us with talking points,” Mr. Blumenthal said. “The difference with Sam Altman is that he’s having a conversation.”
After the hearing, which lasted three hours, Mr. Altman briefed the Senate Intelligence Committee on the security risks of AI. That evening he spoke at Mr. Warner’s dinner at the Harvest Tide Steakhouse on Capitol Hill. (Mr. Altman is a vegetarian.)
He has also benefited from a partnership between OpenAI and Microsoft, which has invested $13 billion in the start-up. Microsoft President Brad Smith said he and Mr. Altman provided each other with feedback on draft memos and blog posts. The companies were also coordinating their messaging ahead of the White House meeting, Mr Smith said.
“Any day that we can actually support each other is a good day because we’re trying to do something together,” he said.
Some researchers and competitors said OpenAI has had too much impact on AI regulatory debates. Altman’s proposals on licensing and testing could benefit more established AI companies like him, said Marietje Schaake, a fellow at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence and a former member of the European Parliament.
“He’s not just an expert, he’s a stakeholder,” said Ms. Schaake.
