OpenAI Drama Sparks Controversy as Cohere CEO Criticizes Effective Altruism
In a letter to his staff on Wednesday, the CEO of Cohere, an artificial intelligence startup, expressed his disapproval of the effective altruism movement and individuals excessively worried about the potential dangers of an AI doomsday, referring to them as “self-righteous.”
The artificial intelligence industry is increasingly divided between those who demand caution and restraint in the development of the technology, and those who want to move quickly. That tension was on full display last week amid a rift between OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and board members who fired him on Friday — before the company rehired him five days later. The fear that AI will destroy humanity is a central belief among many effective altruists, and has grown increasingly influential in Silicon Valley and the AI industry over the past decade. The OpenAI board included supporters of the philosophy.
In a letter reviewed by Bloomberg, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez said effective altruism, which aims to quantify how to do the most good for humanity, has become dogmatic and self-aggrandizing. “When people come to believe so deeply that they are uniquely qualified to benefit or even save humanity, they are usually willing to take extreme measures to achieve that goal,” he wrote. Others have criticized the charity movement for the same reasons, citing the way the “end justifies the means” mentality has led to harm, fraud and allegations of abuse.
Gomez wrote that Cohere was “unfazed by fantastic stories about doomsday and terminators”. He also took pictures of how other AI startups have partnered with cloud providers such as OpenAI and Microsoft Corp. “Over the years, we have had opportunities to get large investments from different cloud service providers, but we are not willing. to accept money tied up and not accept money that has to be recycled back to the investor,” he wrote.
A spokesperson for Cohere confirmed the authenticity of the letter and declined to comment further.
