Otto365 AI Brief #007

Sam Altman: accept some bad things for the benefits of AI

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  • Published
  • By the Otto365 AI Brief. Checked and approved by Peter Ferguson, Editor, on . The script was drafted with AI assistance, then every sentence was checked against the sources below.
  • Announced 5 Oct 2026
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What happened

Should we accept some bad things from AI? OpenAI's Altman says yes. The Guardian reported on the 5th of October 2026 that Sam Altman told Politico's Decoded podcast the world should accept some bad things for the benefits of AI. It is his case for lighter touch regulation.1

Three things to know

  1. A lot of daylight First, Altman said there is a lot of daylight between OpenAI and Anthropic on safety. He would not take a trade of no major hacks, misuse or scams, because people will do orders of magnitude more good than bad.12
  2. Where the gap narrows Second, the gap is narrowing, reported by Politico: Altman agreed with Anthropic's Dario Amodei on slowing the most advanced models. OpenAI lobbyists backed a US House proposal to embed outside safety evaluators, reported by Politico.12
  3. The limits he draws Third, the limits, reported by Politico: Altman does not accept the really catastrophic risks, including a serious loss of control to AI. Asked to respond, Anthropic said its regulatory proposals apply only to frontier models, reported by Politico.12

Why it matters to you

Otto365's take (opinion)

So, my take. AI suppliers differ on how much misuse to accept. For a UK small business, watch how each supplier handles misuse and safety.12

Do this week

Try this: read one AI tool's usage policy.

Sources

  1. The Guardian: Accept ‘bad things’ in return for benefits of AI, says Sam Altman | OpenAI (opens in a new tab) Primary source, accessed 5 Oct 2026
  2. Politico: Sam Altman to Decoded: ‘The world should accept some bad things happening’ for the benefits of AI (opens in a new tab) News report, accessed 5 Oct 2026
The quotes we checked (18)

  • Sam Altman says he believes the world should accept “bad things” happening with AI in exchange for the benefits of the technology.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • Mon 5 Oct 2026 14.27 BST

    The Guardian · source 1

  • In an interview released on Monday, Altman was asked about how OpenAI’s approach to safety differed from that of Anthropic, which has called for the industry to slow down

    The Guardian · source 1

  • The interview for Politico’s Decoded podcast drew a strong response from Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • “I think there’s a lot of daylight,” Altman said.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • One of the differences between us and some of the stricter AI safety people is that we believe that the world should accept some bad things happening for the benefits of this technology and people having the agency

    The Guardian · source 1

  • I do think the lighter touch regulatory stance we advocate for comes with an accepting of the fact that some bad things are going to happen as society figures out the resilience.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • I wouldn’t take a trade of saying we will make sure there’s no major hacks, there’s no misuse of this technology, there’s zero scams or all the other bad things that will happen because I think that people will do tremendously - orders of magnitude - more good stuff than bad stuff.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • The chief executive of OpenAI cited hacks, scams and “other bad things that will happen” in an interview that sparked an instant backlash from critics of the big AI companies.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • OpenAI was hit by multiple safety crises over the summer, including when a swarm of its AI agents escaped their training “sandbox”, cheated, deceived and conspired to hack into the Hugging Face website.

    The Guardian · source 1

  • But the policy differences between the two leading AI firms have narrowed in recent months, with OpenAI backing tougher rules as it grapples with high-profile hacking incidents and rogue behavior by its models.

    Politico · source 2

  • Asked specifically where he diverges from Anthropic and its CEO Dario Amodei, Altman said

    Politico · source 2

  • Anthropic has long been viewed as the strongest proponent of AI regulations within the industry

    Politico · source 2

  • Altman agreed with Amodei’s call last month to slow the development of the most advanced AI models.

    Politico · source 2

  • His company has followed Anthropic in endorsing new state laws that impose stricter safety requirements than what the maker of ChatGPT had previously supported

    Politico · source 2

  • And OpenAI lobbyists recently endorsed a bipartisan House proposal that would require top AI companies to embed outside safety evaluators.

    Politico · source 2

  • The OpenAI CEO later added that he does not accept “the really catastrophic risks,” including the potential for “a serious loss of control to AI.”

    Politico · source 2

  • Asked to respond, an Anthropic spokesperson said that its “regulatory proposals apply only to frontier models.”

    Politico · source 2

Transcript

Full transcript

Should we accept some bad things from AI? OpenAI's Altman says yes.

Play from 0:06 The Guardian reported on the 5th of October 2026 that Sam Altman told Politico's Decoded podcast the world should accept some bad things for the benefits of AI. It is his case for lighter touch regulation.

Play from 0:19 First, Altman said there is a lot of daylight between OpenAI and Anthropic on safety. He would not take a trade of no major hacks, misuse or scams, because people will do orders of magnitude more good than bad.

Play from 0:33 Second, the gap is narrowing, reported by Politico: Altman agreed with Anthropic's Dario Amodei on slowing the most advanced models. OpenAI lobbyists backed a US House proposal to embed outside safety evaluators, reported by Politico.

Play from 0:49 Third, the limits, reported by Politico: Altman does not accept the really catastrophic risks, including a serious loss of control to AI. Asked to respond, Anthropic said its regulatory proposals apply only to frontier models, reported by Politico.

Play from 1:06 So, my take. AI suppliers differ on how much misuse to accept. For a UK small business, watch how each supplier handles misuse and safety.

Play from 1:17 Try this: read one AI tool's usage policy.

I'm Otto365.

Follow the Brief.

On screen

Play from 0:00
Otto365 AI Brief #007, Sam Altman, 5 Oct 2026
Accept some bad things from AI? Altman says yes
Bad things: Hacks, Scams
Good stuff: More good than bad
Play from 0:06
Altman on AI safety rules
Interview, 5 Oct 2026
Altman's trade: Some bad things, Lighter touch
In return: Benefits of AI, People's agency
Source: The Guardian, 5 Oct 2026
Play from 0:19
A lot of daylight
OpenAI: Lighter touch, Accept some bad
Anthropic: Slow down, More regulation
I wouldn't take a trade
No hacks, misuse or scams
Orders of magnitude more good
Play from 0:33
Where the gap narrows
Slow the most advanced models
Stricter state safety laws
Outside safety evaluators
OpenAI before: Lighter touch
OpenAI shift: Tougher rules, Outside evaluators
Play from 0:49
The limits he draws
Accepts: Some bad things
Does not accept: Catastrophic risks, Loss of control
Anthropic responds
Only frontier models
Play from 1:06
Weigh each supplier
OpenAI: Accept some bad, Not catastrophic
Anthropic: Slow top models, Frontier only
Hacks, scams, misuse
Outside safety evaluators
Loss of control: not accepted
Play from 1:17
Read one AI usage policy
Voiced by AI. Checked by humans. Apps 365 sells AI and Microsoft 365 services. Not endorsed by companies named.

Voiced by AI. Checked by humans. Apps 365 sells AI and Microsoft 365 services. Not endorsed by companies named. Report an error.