OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is pushing back against religious analogies tied to AI models.He says it makes him "very uncomfortable" when people "ascribe religious force or a surrender of human judgment to AI models," calling this a "real safety issue." His comments follow a detailed New York Times report on Anthropic's outreach to religious leaders and a statement from Pope Leo XIV that "algorithms lack the spark of humanity."
Pope Leo XIV via X
Altman himself said in 2023 and 2024 that OpenAI's goal was to build "magic intelligence in the sky." That same year, he said he hoped to be on God's side and felt "on the side of the angels" working on AI. OpenAI has also talked with religious leaders. Altman has also said repeatedly that his goal is AI on the level of the sci-fi movie "Her," meaning deeply humanized. That's different from ascribing consciousness or religious meaning to the models themselves, but whether this kind of spiritual talk is much more trustworthy is up to you.
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