Sam Altman says he’s talking to someone in the government every few days

Altman emphasized the importance of partnerships between companies creating AI and the government, citing the immediate need for safeguards.

“One of the first things we need to do — and this is happening now — is to get the government to start figuring out how to do safety testing of these systems, like we do for aircraft or new drugs,” he said. Altman said.

“If we can get good at it now, it will make it easier to figure out what the regulatory framework is later,” he added.

In OpenAI’s quest to do just that, Altman said it frequently communicates with various branches of government. The founder said his company is in contact with “a lot of people” in the executive branch and “dozens of people” in Congress.

Last month, OpenAI and Anthropic signed an agreement that allows the government access to test and evaluate their artificial intelligence models. The move comes amid growing calls for regulation as technology rapidly advances.

Altman said his conversations with government leaders primarily focus on how the U.S. can be a global leader in secure AI, a topic that leads to discussions about building enough data centers, producing AI chips, creating a geopolitical strategy around AI, conducting safety tests on the technology, the economic impact of AI and working with other governments.

In August, the United States Agency for International Development became OpenAI’s first federal customer, reaching a deal to use the company’s ChatGPT Enterprise service. The move was largely seen as part of OpenAI’s goal to bring its products into the public sector.

However, in California, OpenAI has opposed an AI safety bill that has divided the tech sector, saying it will “stifle innovation.” People like Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “godfather of artificial intelligence,” are supporting the bill that would add more regulation to AI.

In March of this year, the EU adopted the Artificial Intelligence Law, which came into force during the summer.