WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:04.557 I'm honored to be here and to be able to speak with you all at this important time. 00:00:04.640 --> 00:00:07.677 We've been talking about artificial intelligence for years, 00:00:07.760 --> 00:00:10.557 but it feels different in recent weeks and months. 00:00:10.640 --> 00:00:13.797 Rapid model progress has made the timeline feel more compressed, the 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:18.397 upside more tangible, but also the stakes and the risks more immediate. 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:20.677 We have a choice in front of us. 00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:25.117 AI can either be more like a new renaissance of creativity and discovery, 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:29.477 or more like a new industrial revolution of upheaval and disarray. 00:00:29.560 --> 00:00:33.757 The renaissance was a time when new tools, new ideas, and new institutions 00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:36.957 expanded what people believed they could do. 00:00:37.040 --> 00:00:39.477 AI can play that role for our time. 00:00:39.560 --> 00:00:42.637 I believe that people are much more capable than they imagine themselves to 00:00:42.720 --> 00:00:47.197 be, but have been held back by limited technology that was meant to empower, 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:50.837 but instead distracts and often steals attention. 00:00:50.920 --> 00:00:54.917 The best version of AI is not about making people cogs in a giant machine, 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.877 or optimizing every part of life until the human parts disappear. 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:02.677 It's about giving people more agency in an ever more complex world, more ability 00:01:02.760 --> 00:01:07.157 to learn, to create, discover, build, participate. 00:01:07.240 --> 00:01:10.637 There are many things that AI cannot and should not automate. 00:01:10.720 --> 00:01:14.157 AI should be built for people, not simply to turn the crank crank of the 00:01:14.240 --> 00:01:17.517 machines faster for their own sake. 00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:20.597 Some of the things people working to build AI have said are so dystopian that 00:01:20.680 --> 00:01:23.997 they sound like the plot of bad science fiction movies. 00:01:24.080 --> 00:01:27.877 Anything this power is also powerful is also intimidating. 00:01:27.960 --> 00:01:29.517 This moment is complicated as we feel 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:32.197 both tremendous and very understandable 00:01:32.280 --> 00:01:36.677 anxiety at the same time. These models can help people discover 00:01:36.760 --> 00:01:40.317 new knowledge, new medicines, better health care, stronger education, and 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:43.717 build more productive economies. They can be new tools for people to pursue 00:01:43.800 --> 00:01:47.157 dreams and ambition that today feel out of reach. 00:01:47.240 --> 00:01:51.517 The complexity of life has increased so dramatically for the average person. 00:01:51.600 --> 00:01:55.037 AI can be a defensive tool against this complexity as much as it can be this 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:59.437 tool of unprecedented discovery and innovation. 00:01:59.520 --> 00:02:01.797 On the other hand, as AI systems become 00:02:01.880 --> 00:02:06.557 more capable and more autonomous, they could move faster than our institutions, 00:02:06.640 --> 00:02:08.437 concentrate power in too few too few 00:02:08.520 --> 00:02:10.877 hands, or make decisions that people no 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:15.917 longer understand or control. That concern becomes especially 00:02:16.000 --> 00:02:19.637 important as we approach systems that can improve themselves and future 00:02:19.720 --> 00:02:24.237 versions of themselves. Often called recursive self-improvement. 00:02:24.320 --> 00:02:28.397 As the process of building AI becomes more automated, the pace of AI progress 00:02:28.480 --> 00:02:30.237 could accelerate rapidly. 00:02:30.320 --> 00:02:33.477 This moment calls for extreme care. 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:36.037 I largely agree with Professor Bengio. 00:02:36.120 --> 00:02:39.117 Uh although I'll say two instead of three. I believe there are two ways that 00:02:39.200 --> 00:02:42.837 AI progress could go very badly that we have to avoid. 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:47.437 First, we could lose control of the future to AI. 00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:50.237 The risk is that it moves so fast that people can no longer follow what's 00:02:50.320 --> 00:02:54.797 happening or intervene when needed. This would obviously be terrible. 00:02:54.880 --> 00:02:58.037 The industry must not accept too much technological risk just because the 00:02:58.120 --> 00:03:01.637 benefits are too great and that they feel too important to slow down. 00:03:01.720 --> 00:03:05.437 Beating companies in competitive race is not a reason to make rash decisions, nor 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:08.277 do we believe we are locked in a race where we are unable to do that. We have 00:03:08.360 --> 00:03:11.877 unilaterally slowed down in the past. We will do so in the future. We do not want 00:03:11.960 --> 00:03:14.397 to build systems. We think it's important that everyone avoids building 00:03:14.480 --> 00:03:18.157 systems where we cannot make the alignment, monitorability, and safety 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:21.557 guarantees that we must. We need to understand what these systems 00:03:21.640 --> 00:03:25.437 are doing and have strong evidence that they will do what people intend even as 00:03:25.520 --> 00:03:30.397 they get very, very smart. Actually, especially as they get very, very smart. 00:03:30.480 --> 00:03:34.357 It doesn't matter whether people put the risk of catastrophe at 10% or 1% or 12% 00:03:34.440 --> 00:03:38.597 or 0.1% None of these levels are remotely acceptable and we should not 00:03:38.680 --> 00:03:41.917 train models that we cannot make an extremely strong case they will be able 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:46.997 to keep under human control. So, that's one way things can go wrong. 00:03:47.080 --> 00:03:50.157 In the other direction, these systems could concentrate too much power in too 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:54.077 few hands. No one person or company or country 00:03:54.160 --> 00:03:58.197 should be able to use the most powerful AI models to impose their worldview on 00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:01.637 everyone else. A company or country that believes only 00:04:01.720 --> 00:04:05.197 it can be trusted with this technology can use that belief to justify almost 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:08.317 anything else. We have to reject that logic even when 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.037 it's convenient for anyone actor. 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:14.717 I believe there is a pragmatic path through both of these. 00:04:14.800 --> 00:04:18.397 At OpenAI, we approach these questions with a clear goal. 00:04:18.480 --> 00:04:22.157 AI should give people more power over their own lives, more freedom to live 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:26.077 lives the way they want, more ability to solve problems big or small, and to 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:30.477 improve their communities. We don't want to fall into the trap of blind optimism. 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.557 We also don't want to fall into the trap of doomerism, either. 00:04:33.640 --> 00:04:36.997 Getting pulled into either extreme will not help us successfully figure out the 00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:40.157 challenges in front of us, especially at a time when the world and 00:04:40.240 --> 00:04:45.157 its people face such enormous challenges that this technology can help solve. 00:04:45.240 --> 00:04:48.717 So, we try to walk the middle path between these two poles. 00:04:48.800 --> 00:04:50.957 For us, that means three principles. 00:04:51.040 --> 00:04:56.077 First, as AI becomes more capable, people must remain at the center of AI 00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.277 decision-making. Alignment is not an abstract research 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:03.157 question. It is the work of ensuring that these systems reliably remain under 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:06.557 human control, reflect human values, and help people 00:05:06.640 --> 00:05:08.957 guide the next stages of development. 00:05:09.040 --> 00:05:13.517 We are not trying to and must not automate human judgment or human values. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:17.677 Second, the benefits of scientific progress and economic growth must be by 00:05:17.760 --> 00:05:20.557 people and for people. AI should help researchers make 00:05:20.640 --> 00:05:24.077 discoveries, treat patients, teachers teach students, entrepreneurs start 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:28.077 companies, communities solve problems that felt out of reach, and much more. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.677 The continuous story of human progress is not the tools 00:05:31.760 --> 00:05:35.317 replace human agency, it is that the right tools make people more capable, 00:05:35.400 --> 00:05:39.157 and I believe this is going to go much further than we believe possible. 00:05:39.240 --> 00:05:42.957 Third, this technology must empower people individually. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:46.237 A great future will come from people realizing their potential and building 00:05:46.320 --> 00:05:50.597 value for themselves, their communities, their countries, and the broader world. 00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:53.637 We might be with the builders, one of the builders of this technology, but we 00:05:53.720 --> 00:05:55.397 are not the heroes of this story. 00:05:55.480 --> 00:05:56.997 Our role is to enable people all over 00:05:57.080 --> 00:06:02.877 the world and to trust in the magic of humanity's skill and faculties. 00:06:02.960 --> 00:06:07.117 We now have models capable of discovering knowledge that we have never had before. 00:06:07.200 --> 00:06:09.677 Consider the progress we've seen in math. 00:06:09.760 --> 00:06:13.397 Three summers ago, our models were okay at grade school math. 00:06:13.480 --> 00:06:17.237 Two summers ago, they were pretty good at high school math competitions. 00:06:17.320 --> 00:06:20.837 Last summer, we reached gold level a gold level medal in the most prestigious 00:06:20.920 --> 00:06:22.997 international math competition. 00:06:23.080 --> 00:06:26.157 And just a few weeks ago, this summer, one of our models solved one of the 00:06:26.240 --> 00:06:29.917 millennium prize problems, the Navier-Stokes equations. 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.157 These equations are used for aircraft design, weather forecasting, and the 00:06:33.240 --> 00:06:36.037 study of blood flow. We are not solving math problems for 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:39.957 their own sake, but to empower people to discover new knowledge and to use it to 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:44.077 improve health care, raise standards of livings of living, and expand everyone's 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:48.557 potential around the world. There remains so much to be discovered. 00:06:48.640 --> 00:06:52.757 But it's very important that companies not substitute for the democratic process. 00:06:52.840 --> 00:06:56.397 If AI is to be democratic, the most important decisions cannot be made by 00:06:56.480 --> 00:07:01.077 labs in San Francisco alone. They must be shaped through democratic processes 00:07:01.160 --> 00:07:04.597 and by governments accountable to the people that they serve. 00:07:04.680 --> 00:07:08.517 At the international level, this will require cooperation. 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:11.637 In our history, there have been times where countries who compete and don't 00:07:11.720 --> 00:07:15.277 always like each other very much still come together for shared interests and 00:07:15.360 --> 00:07:18.717 the collective good in the face of a powerful new technology. 00:07:18.800 --> 00:07:22.277 We believe this must be one of those times. 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.637 We need a mechanism for complementary national and international frontier AI 00:07:25.720 --> 00:07:30.517 standards. Standards for measuring capabilities, assessing risks, 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:33.877 determining whether safeguards are sufficient, and preserving meaningful 00:07:33.960 --> 00:07:37.597 human oversight as systems become more autonomous. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:40.597 We need common standards so countries can compare evidence, 00:07:40.680 --> 00:07:44.397 verify compliance, and have a shared language and understanding about what is 00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.477 happening. We need to accurate and speedy incident reporting, 00:07:48.560 --> 00:07:52.237 classification and reporting protocols, so the world can learn from failures 00:07:52.320 --> 00:07:54.917 before they become catastrophes. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:57.997 And we need secure channels among governments, critical infrastructure 00:07:58.080 --> 00:08:01.677 operators, and technical experts to share emerging vulnerabilities and new 00:08:01.760 --> 00:08:05.077 threats. Obviously, these standards should not 00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:08.917 lock in incumbents or favor one business model over another. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:12.397 They must support open and closed model developers, new entrants and established 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:16.397 labs, national authority, and international cooperation. 00:08:16.480 --> 00:08:19.317 Each government should decide how to incorporate standards into its own legal 00:08:19.400 --> 00:08:23.517 system, but we will all be better off if we can agree on what good evidence, good 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:27.957 safeguards, and good oversight look like on the global stage. 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:31.797 We do not have all the answers, and we're very open to any better ideas. 00:08:31.880 --> 00:08:34.637 We're ready to work with you all and try our hardest to figure out the path 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:38.637 forward. We are at a crossroads. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:42.997 One path leads to a world where power is concentrated, decisions are opaque, and 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.797 people feel that the most important technology of their lifetime is 00:08:45.880 --> 00:08:50.157 something being done to them. The other path leads to a world where AI 00:08:50.240 --> 00:08:54.517 works for people, because people, through democratic institutions, help 00:08:54.600 --> 00:08:58.397 decide how it should develop and guide it. Where scientific progress improves 00:08:58.480 --> 00:09:01.917 real lives, where more people can participate in the future, and where 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:05.357 this technology continues to give individuals and communities greater 00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:07.557 power to live life as they choose. 00:09:07.640 --> 00:09:11.117 This is a future of realized potential, excitement, and wonder, and it is the 00:09:11.200 --> 00:09:12.517 future we believe is worth building. 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.400 Thank you very much.