Kennedy to OpenAI's Sam Altman: 'You Make a Lot of Money, Do You?' Altman: 'I Have No Equity' (May 16, 2023)

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., asked OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman whether he would run a new federal agency for artificial intelligence, then asked about his paycheck. “Would you be qualified, if we promulgated those rules, to administer those rules?” Kennedy asked. “I love my current job,” Altman said, to laughter [1].

“Okay. You make a lot of money, do you?” Kennedy asked. “No. I’m paid enough for health insurance. I have no equity in OpenAI,” Altman said [1].

“Really?” Kennedy asked. “Yes,” Altman said. “That’s interesting. You need a lawyer,” Kennedy said. “I need a what?” Altman asked. “You need a lawyer or an agent,” Kennedy said. “I’m doing this because I love it,” Altman answered [1].

The video above shows the exchange at the May 16, 2023, hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. Quotes are from the official hearing record published by the Government Publishing Office [1].

Three Hypotheses

Kennedy opened with a warning about Congress itself. “Permit me to share with you three hypotheses that I would like you to assume for the moment to be true. Hypothesis number one: Many Members of Congress do not understand artificial intelligence,” he said [1].

“Hypothesis number two: That absence of understanding may not prevent Congress from plunging in with enthusiasm and trying to regulate this technology in a way that could hurt this technology,” Kennedy said [1].

The third was darker. “There is likely a berserk wing of the artificial intelligence community that intentionally or unintentionally could use artificial intelligence to kill all of us and hurt us the entire time that we are dying,” he said. “Please tell me, in plain English, two or three reforms, regulations, if any, that you would implement if you were queen or king for a day.” [1]

“This Is Your Shot, Man”

IBM’s Christina Montgomery talked about “transparency and explainability.” Kennedy kept pressing: “What do you mean by transparency?” “Governance by whom?” “Which rules?” [1]

“I mean, this is your chance, folks, to tell us how to get this right. Please use it,” Kennedy said [1].

He turned to Gary Marcus, a professor emeritus at New York University. “This is your shot, man. Talk in plain English and tell me what, if any, rules we ought to implement. And please don’t just use concepts. I’m looking for specificity,” Kennedy said [1].

Marcus proposed “a safety review like we use with the FDA prior to widespread deployment.” “There you go. Okay. That’s a good one,” Kennedy said. “I’m not sure I agree with it, but that’s a good one.” “You didn’t ask for three that you would agree with,” Marcus answered [1].

When Marcus kept going, Kennedy cut him off “because I want to hear from Mr. Altman.” Then: “Mr. Altman, here’s your shot.” [1]

“A New Agency That Licenses”

Altman’s first answer was a new bureaucracy. “Number one, I would form a new agency that licenses any effort above a certain scale of capabilities and can take that license away and ensure compliance with safety standards,” he said [1].

He also wanted tests before release, including “looking to see if a model can self-replicate and self-exfiltrate into the wild,” and “independent audits” [1].

”Can I Sue You?”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., wanted to know whether AI companies could hide behind the legal shield that protects social media platforms. “Your company is not claiming that Section 230 applies to the tool you have created?” Graham asked. “I don’t think Section 230 is even the right framework,” Altman said [1].

“So, under the law that exists today, this tool you’ve created, if I’m harmed by it, can I sue you?” Graham asked. “That is beyond my area of legal expertise,” Altman said. “Have you ever been sued?” “Not for that, no.” [1]

Pressed further, Altman said: “I mean, they’ve mostly been, like, pretty frivolous things, like I think happens to any company.” Then he agreed: “I think there needs to be clear responsibility by the companies.” [1]

By the Numbers

3: hypotheses Kennedy asked the witnesses to accept [1].
3: witnesses, from OpenAI, IBM and New York University [1].
100 million: the number of people Marcus said should trigger a safety review before a release [1].
$500 billion: the AI investment Altman joined Trump to announce in 2025 [2].

What Happened Next

No new agency, but a new President. Twenty months later, Altman stood with President Donald Trump at the White House to announce Stargate, which Trump called “a new American company that will invest $500 billion at least in AI infrastructure in the United States” [2].

Trump introduced him as “by far the leading expert, based on everything I read, Sam Altman.” Altman told Trump: “we wouldn’t be able to do this without you, Mr. President” [2].

Two days later, Trump signed an order that “revokes certain existing AI policies and directives that act as barriers to American AI innovation” [3]. For Biden’s AI rules and how Trump undid them, see HYGO News’ page on Biden’s July 2023 AI remarks.