Protests at OpenAI's San Francisco office calling for AI boycott
What's the story
A group of activists recently protested near OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, urging for an AI boycott.
This was done following the company's decision to collaborate with the US military.
OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, discreetly removed a "military and warfare" ban from its usage policies last month, as reported by The Intercept.
Shortly after, OpenAI confirmed its partnership with the US Defense Department to develop open-source cybersecurity software.
Objective
OpenAI's stance on military collaboration
Despite the policy change, OpenAI claims it still prohibits the use of its AI for creating weapons or causing harm to people.
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos last month, OpenAI's VP of Global Affairs, Anna Makanju, stated that their collaboration with the military is "very much aligned with what we want to see in the world."
An OpenAI spokesperson also mentioned their work with DARPA on developing new cybersecurity tools for open-source software protection.
Issue
Protesters' concerns and PauseAI's mission
Holly Elmore, one of the organizers of the OpenAI protest, expressed concerns about companies altering their boundaries at will.
Elmore heads US operations for PauseAI, a volunteer community advocating for a ban on developing large-scale general-purpose AI systems due to their potential as an "existential threat."
Many top AI executives and voters in recent polls share the belief that AI could inadvertently cause a catastrophic event.
Motive
Sam Altman's perspective on AI development
Altman argues that the focus should be on developing AI technology safely and responsibly, rather than opposing it entirely.
He is more concerned with addressing "subtle societal misalignments" than concentrating on "killer robots walking on the street."
The OpenAI top boss tweeted, "You can grind to help secure our collective future or you can write Substacks about why we are going fail," emphasizing the importance of working toward a secure AI future.