Billionaire media mogul Barry Diller has publicly defended OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, dismissing concerns about his character while warning that the rapid approach of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) renders the issue of personal trust irrelevant. Speaking at The Wall Street Journal’s “Future of Everything” conference this week, Diller addressed recent reporting to the contrary, pushing back against claims from former colleagues that Altman has acted deceptively.
The Irrelevance of Individual Trust
Diller, who maintains a friendly relationship with Altman, addressed whether the public should rely on the OpenAI executive to ensure AI remains beneficial to humanity. When asked specifically about AGI—the theoretical point where machines surpass human cognitive ability—Diller argued that the focus on individual integrity misses the larger, more dangerous picture.
The IAC and Expedia Group chairman, who also co-founded Fox Broadcasting, emphasized that the true threat lies in the unpredictable consequences of the technology itself. “One of the big issues with AI is it goes way beyond trust,” Diller stated. “It may be that trust is irrelevant because the things that are happening are a surprise to the people who are making those things happen.”
Into the Great Unknown
Diller revealed that his extensive discussions with AI developers have led him to a startling conclusion: even the creators are operating in the dark. “I’ve spent a lot of time with various people who’ve been in the creation mode of AI, and they have a sense of wonder themselves. So… it’s the great unknown. We don’t know. They don’t know,” he explained.
var playerInstance_jwplayer_6a794f0fbd69a = jwplayer( “jwplayer_6a794f0fbd69a” );
playerInstance_jwplayer_6a794f0fbd69a.setup({
playlist: “https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/lv0GaEwB”,
});
While the mogul remains indifferent to the financial success of current AI investments, he is certain that technological progress is inevitable. He reaffirmed his belief that Altman is “a decent person with good values,” though he declined to name which other AI industry leaders he views with suspicion.
The Urgent Need for Guardrails
The core of Diller’s warning is that the proximity of AGI requires immediate action. “The issue is not their stewardship. The issue is… dealing truly with the unknown. They don’t know what can happen once you get AGI, and we’re close to it. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer and closer, quicker and quicker. And we must think about guardrails,” he noted.
Diller concluded with a stark warning about the consequences of inaction. If humanity fails to implement necessary safety measures, he suggested that “another force, an AGI force, will do it themselves. And once that happens, once you unleash that, there’s no going back.”
About the Author
