Sam Altman, the CEO ofOpenAI, really wantsAIregulation.
Truly, madly, deeply, he wants it.
Because of safety and stuff.
Unless, of course, its the throw in of regulation that hedoesntwant.
If thats the case, hell threaten to withdraw his services instead.
Altman issued the warning this week during a tour of European regulators.
He said OpenAIcould cease operating in the EU if it cant comply with the blocs impending AI Act.
The 38-year-old is particularly worried about the plans for high-risk systems.
Another thorny issue for OpenAI is the new rules for generative models.
Altman, however, described the proposed AI Act as over-regulating.
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But there are technical limits to whats possible, he said,according to Time.
Altmans response has been compared to a blackmail attemptby lawmakers.
Propitiously, its an experience that theyve withstood before.
Google has threatened to pull its search enginefrom Australia.
WhatsApp has threatened to block its servicein the UK.
Meta has threatened to shut down Facebook and Instagram inEuropeonmultipleoccasions.
Microsoft has even threatened toremove Windowsfrom unruly US states.
To date, none of the threats has been fulfilled.
In Altmans case, the U-turn came just a day later.
very productive week of conversations in europe about how to best regulate AI!
we are excited to continue to operate here and of course have no plans to leave.
But the empty rhetoric is starting to sound like boys crying wolf.
Story byThomas Macaulay
Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he e(show all)Thomas is the managing editor of TNW.
He leads our coverage of European tech and oversees our talented team of writers.
Away from work, he enjoys playing chess (badly) and the guitar (even worse).
