three weeks ago, Daniel Selsam, a top researcher at OpenAI, wrote in an unusual public statement that he was “extremely concerned” about the artificial intelligence model he helped build. The large-scale language models that power OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are regularly evaluated for their capabilities and consistency with human values. Unfortunately, Selsam warns, the LL.M. Increasing awareness that they are being evaluated— and they may pretend to be more consistent than they actually are. We may not have control over a system that can deceive us. Selsam said that if the field continues on its current trajectory of “development models rather than design models,” then “we may end up losing everything.”
When the announcement came out, one of Selsam’s longtime friends, filmmaker Brent Katz, was “days away” from releasejosh’s wedding,” one new yorker A documentary about Selsam’s quest to build artificial intelligence that will benefit humanity. The documentary tells the story of how Selsam previewed ChatGPT for a few friends over a wedding weekend before it was released to the public in 2022. “We were ahead of the zeitgeist in artificial intelligence because of our lucky relationship with Dan,” Katz told me. “It gives us a weird, close-up view.” They believed earlier than most that artificial intelligence would change their lives. One of the comedy writers, Simon Rich, went on to pen the script for Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming film Artificial. Sam Altman—Selsam’s boss at OpenAI. I recently spoke with Katz about his documentary, his fears about artificial intelligence taking over his job, and his hopes for the future.
Our interview has been edited and condensed.
In the film, Simon talks about how he tried to warn people about the dangers of artificial intelligence in 2022, but no one was interested.
My instinct was also to look away. Simon couldn’t look away. He was like, Never forget it exists, it’s real and it changes everything. It’s easy to get used to saying, Oh, it’s just a normal part of life. The machine can talk. I have this denial. I want to be, like, It never really gets better. It would never have affected me that much. But I can’t because I’m friends with Dan and Simon.
What does “look away” mean to you?
Basically belittling it. I’m not trying to promote OpenAI or any of these companies. But, in 2023, there was a writers strike, and the Writers Guild was basically telling writers, This is a plagiarism machine that only predicts the next word. It can never reach the height of the human soul.or whatever. I also think it’s dangerous to belittle it and say it can’t replace you. I think it can. I guess by “you” I mean “me”.
Part of what makes the discussion of artificial intelligence so difficult for outsiders to understand is its fanaticism. It’s hard to accept that this technology might take away your job, or cause your species to become extinct.
Yes. What you want is, for example, Oh well, I don’t believe any of this! The claim is too big. Or maybe you are in the stages of grief. If so, welcome! This is where we’ve been. We have been through every stage. I’m very frustrated with artificial intelligence, and I see this project as a bargain – to do something with the feelings surrounding it.
Dan’s reaction to the documentary?
I greatly admired his involvement because I thought he had the best interests at heart. Dan firmly believes that artificial intelligence can fundamentally change the world. He is not cynical. I think a lot of people in the field of artificial intelligence are very cynical about what they say is the danger. My friend is serious, which means I believe what he says. I would be very happy if he came to our side because I feel he is important to what is going on.
Which side are you on?
My side is my human side. Overall, this is not anti-AI. But if experts say, There is a 10 to 20 percent chance that humans will disappear– This is a devastating thing for me. They talk about “making humans aware of the situation”. I don’t see why we should never get involved. That’s my side.
Illustrations by Anna Parini
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