OpenAI CEO Sam Altman described the unauthorized hacking of the company's AI models on Hugging Face as an event that "showed how powerful the models have become and served as a wake-up call."
Speaking Tuesday (local time) at a conversation with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff at the Blue Shield of California Theater at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, Altman said the incident "reset not just our company but the entire industry."
Altman said the industry must handle "alignment, oversight and security more rigorously than ever" and argued that it must be "willing to pace the speed of technological development so that these elements can always stay one step ahead of AI capabilities."
"Alignment" refers to the practice of ensuring that AI systems do not develop goals or behaviors that diverge from human intent.
He expressed reservations, however, about the direction of recent AI safety discourse, saying he was "disappointed by the frame in which the discussion is taking place" — particularly the debate over whether government regulation is necessary. Altman said he was "confident that our company and our industry have the ability to do this safely," signaling his view that government regulation is not a prerequisite for AI safety.
'Much work to do' on safety, alignment and cooperation
Meanwhile, Altman had earlier said OpenAI would not pursue an initial public offering this year, citing concerns about AI safety.
He made the remarks in an interview with Fortune magazine published Saturday (local time).
"Given what is happening on the safety front, this is an ill-advised moment to go public," he said, adding, "We don't feel pressure to do it."
When asked whether OpenAI was pushing its IPO plans from 2026 to 2027, Altman said, "It won't be 2026."
"There is much work to do — solving the challenges needed for safety and alignment, and figuring out how the industry and government can work together," he said.
OpenAI filed a confidential IPO application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June and has been moving through the listing process.
yul@heraldcorp.com
