Skip to main content

THE WIRED APP IS HERE

DOWNLOAD NOW »

The World Is Right To Be Afraid About AI Companies Becoming Too Powerful, Sam Altman Says

Sam Altman said people are right to worry about AI companies and their models becoming too powerful, after a week in which AI leaders called for an industry-wide slowdown and the potential dangers of unregulated AI became a global talking point. Speaking at a Salesforce Dreamforce event on Tuesday, September 15 in San Francisco, the OpenAI CEO, said, "I think you also see a real fear that some of these companies or some companies, developing AI could get too much power and be able to sort of exert undue influence, on the economy, push a worldview out on people. And I think the world is right to be afraid of this.” Altman added, however, that “the world should trust that we’re going to do the right thing, because it’s the right thing and because we feel the magnitude of this.”

Released on 09/16/2026

Transcript

I think you also see

a real fear that some of these companies

or some companies developing AI could get too much power

and be able to sort of exert

undue influence on the economy,

push a worldview out on people.

And I think the world is right to be afraid of this.

So we have these two big challenges.

We have the potential of a loss of control accident,

or some other serious thing that could go wrong.

We have the potential of way too much power concentration,

and people fear that those developing AI

could exert their worldview.

And there is a sort of narrow path we have to navigate

with pragmatism, with,

you know, steadiness,

with the ability for the world

to like trust that we will make dependable decisions,

consistent decisions through this.

And I think people are saying,

Well, you know, this now seems pretty important.

Like let's get it right.