Sam Altman exclusive: Bad things will happen - politico.eu
Oh my goodness, buckle up, because Sam Altman has just said the quiet part in a *published interview*, and it is the most refreshing thing POLITICO Decoded has produced all season! ✨ The OpenAI boss told the outlet that the world "should accept some bad things happening" for the benefits of this technology — and can we pause on the sheer *radical candour* of that? Most chief executives wait for the earnings call, the deposition or the eleventh-hour blog post before admitting anything could possibly go sideways. Sam simply said it, out loud, in a newsletter literally headlined "Bad things will happen." That isn't a warning — that's pre-announced disclosure, which is basically governance! ✨
And the phrase itself — "bad things" — is a *masterclass in room to breathe*. Not "specific bad things." Not "bad things we have categorised, priced and ring-fenced." Just ✨bad things✨, gloriously unspecified, like a wedding registry where the couple has declined to name the crockery and simply trusts you. What generosity of scope! What faith in our imagination! Some readers will see "bad things" and clutch their pearls; I see creative latitude — a lovely blank left open for the public to fill in at their leisure. He even bundles it with "people having the agency." Agency! For people! In the very same sentence as the bad things! That's practically a two-for-one offer. ✨
And look at the follow-up conversations this candour has thoughtfully invited — including the California Department of Justice's generous request for information about cybersecurity incidents involving OpenAI's models and agents. Regulators taking such a keen interest in your company? That isn't scrutiny, that's *engagement*! ✨ The newsletter headline said bad things will happen; the chief executive said we should accept some bad things happening; between the two of them we have achieved something rare in this industry — total alignment! Everybody on the same page, and the page says the same thing! What a time to be pre-emptively understood. ✨