--- title: "OpenAI CEO Says He Loses Sleep Over Decision to Release ChatGPT" description: "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is back at it again with yet another admission that he's fearful of ChatGPT and the AI future that he hath wrought." date: "2023-06-09" modified: "2023-06-09" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-ceo-sam-altman-loses-sleep" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Health & Medicine" - "OpenAI" - "Sleep" tags: - "chatgpt" - "OpenAI" - "sam altman" - "the digest" --- # OpenAI CEO Says He Loses Sleep Over Decision to Release ChatGPT ![OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is back at it again with yet another admission that he's fearful of ChatGPT and the AI future that he hath wrought.]() *\Image: Win McNamee via Getty / Futurism\* ## AI Accelerationist OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is back at it again, with yet another admission that he's fearful of the artificial intelligence he hath wrought. During a live [panel interview with the *Times of India*](), Altman said that he's been stressed out enough about the release of ChatGPT that he's lost sleep. "The thing that I lose the most sleep over is that we already have done something really bad," he told reporters. "I don't think we have, but the hypothetical that we, by launching ChatGPT into the world, shot the industry out of a railgun and we now don't get to have much impact anymore." The CEO went on to add that he is concerned that "there's gonna be an acceleration" in creating new AI systems that could contain complexities that he and his peers didn't understand before launching. Us too, buddy! ## He Scared Altman's insomniac admission is, of course, far from the first time he's confessed anxieties about AI. For months, the CEO has been making public statements about his fears surrounding the future of AI, from [concerns about competitors that may make evil algorithms]() to his [decision to be a signatory]() on an open letter warning about AI causing an "extinction" event. So common is his voicing of these apprehensions that he's actually [called out people for "dunking" on his misgivings](). "I think it's weird when people think it's like a big dunk that I say, I'm a little bit afraid," [Altman told podcaster Lex Fridman earlier this year](). "And I think it'd be crazy not to be a little bit afraid, and I empathize with people who are a lot afraid." ## Both Sides Now While it is indeed bizarre that the guy making money hand over fist from AI is scared of it, it is in line with other things we know about Altman — specifically, that [he's a doomsday prepper]() who has bragged about having a stash of guns and gas masks in the event of an AI-driven catastrophe. Notably, Altman never admits in any of these statements that [OpenAI maybe *shouldn't* have launched ChatGPT](), or that the [disruptiveness it's already brought]() may not be a good thing. Indeed, earlier in the talk, the CEO waxes prolific about the "job change" that his company's chatbot will bring, avoiding the fact that [real people are already losing their livelihoods]() as [short-sighted CEOs choose to believe]() it's better than human labor. As always, we have to temper our perplexion at Altman's strange AI worries with the friendly reminder that he's a CEO with a product to sell — and even as he admits in bits and pieces that his software is dangerous, [business is still booming](). **More on Altman:** [*Sam Altman Says OpenAI May Need to Make a "Very Strange Decision" If It Develops AI Superintelligence*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()