Once again, there is a gap between official statements and facts on the ground. Microsoft’s Community-First Initiative sounds great, but it doesn’t have an independent accountability mechanism built in. OpenAI’s new white paper signals a move toward progressive technology policy, but its president, Greg Brockman, has poured millions of dollars into a SuperPAC that opposes state-level AI regulatory efforts. OpenAI also currently supports a bill in the Illinois General Assembly (Senate Bill 3444) that would protect OpenAI from large-scale harm caused by AI models (Anthropic opposes that bill).
These examples highlight the patterns that Ronan Farrow identified in his recent book. new yorker Revealed about Sam Altman. He regularly espoused a position publicly and quickly changed course when it appeared that doing so would benefit the company, he said.
If Mr. Altman, Mr. Amodei, and their big tech companies want to rebuild public trust and develop real technology that benefits the public, the way forward is not another white paper or assumptions about the existential risks of their technology. It is an ongoing and verifiable action. True transparency about what products can do, acceptance of meaningful regulation and accountability at financial cost, and true democratic input from the community about data center growth. Otherwise, this burgeoning AI populist movement will continue to grow, and the potential for violence that comes with it will increase.
