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‘Many people don’t feel comfortable opening up to family or friends’: OpenAI’s new Applications chief makes a bold mission statement that’s both revealing and scary
If you were wondering where OpenAI’s vision for AI is going in the future, then a good place to start getting a feel of what the company has in store for us is the new article posted by incoming CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo.
Simo doesn’t start for a few weeks yet, when she’ll be joining OpenAI as CEO of Applications, “helping get OpenAI’s technologies into the hands of more people around the world.”
Her article is a pretty good summation of the benefits we can all get from AI right now, but I found some of her predictions for how AI can help by “filling a gap that often goes unfilled” could have serious implications for the future.
Two CEOs
Confusingly, OpenAI is about to have two CEOs. Sam Altman, the actual CEO of OpenAI, announced that Fidji Simo is joining as ‘CEO of Applications’, back in May, and emphasized that he was still in control of the company:
“To strengthen our execution, I’m excited to announce Fidji Simo is joining as our CEO of Applications, reporting directly to me. I remain the CEO of OpenAI and will continue to directly oversee success across all pillars of OpenAI – Research, Compute, and Applications – ensuring we stay aligned and integrated across all areas. I will work closely with our board on making sure our non-profit has maximum positive impact. “
Simo was previously at Instacart, and had already been serving on the board of OpenAI for a year.
In a new article on the OpenAI website, Simo writes, “I’ve always considered myself a pragmatic technologist – someone who loves technology not for its own sake, but for the direct impact it can have on people’s lives.”
Six areas of impact
Simo goes on to set out six key areas of our lives that she sees AI making the most impact in – knowledge, health, creative expression, economic freedom, time and support.
Her vision starts with knowledge, where Simo notes that “people who use AI tutors learn twice as much as they do from human ones, and the gains are even bigger compared to learning in a traditional classroom”.
She then moves on to health, and explains how, “AI can explain lab results, decode medical jargon, offer second opinions, and help patients understand their options in plain language. It won’t replace doctors, but it can finally level the playing field for patients, putting them in the driver seat of their own care.”
AI is often thought to be the enemy of creativity, taking opportunities away from human artists, for example, but Simo neatly dodges that issue, saying, “If AI gives everyone access to the tools to transform their ideas into images, stories, or songs, it will make the world a much richer place.”
However, it’s her final area of AI innovation – support – that makes me raise my eyebrow most quizzically. Simo notes that “Many people don’t feel comfortable opening up to family or friends, and most people don’t have access to a therapist or coach they can call regularly. Even people who do have access often spend an hour a week or less with these professionals. AI coaches, on the other hand, can be available throughout every day, leverage their full understanding of all aspects of your life to help support you, and bring your subconscious patterns to your consciousness.”
Trust in AI
I can see her point, but I’m also wary of a world where people begin to trust AI with their innermost thoughts, and start to shy away from talking to friends and family, or even human therapists. While I think it can be helpful for many, I worry about the power that it gives to the AI companies, who will know more and more intimate details about our personal lives.
As I found out in my conversation with serial entrepreneur Simon Squibb last week, trust is going to be a key value going forward as AI levels the technological and economic playing field, so that everybody can create a product and start a company without having to invest thousands of dollars.
If we put our trust in companies that are trying to make a profit (OpenAI has a complicated structure that combines a non-profit with a Public Benefit Corporation) then will we always be sure they have our best interests at heart?
We’ve already seen how easily it was for social media to be used to influence public opinion in an election. What happens when the AI we’ve come to trust as our help and support structure starts accepting adverts?
Currently, there are no adverts on the big AI platforms, but most of the experts I talk to think it’s only a matter of time before the AI giants seek to monetize the hugely expensive systems they’ve created.
I think that Simo’s overall point that AI can be used right now to enhance many areas of our lives, democratizing access to technology and giving us opportunities we haven’t had before, is valid, but there seem to be very few guardrails in place as we march towards this new AI future.
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