Sam Altman says "we are close to creating a genie that can grant any wish" on AI's promise

OpenAI’s Sam Altman recently made a comment about artificial intelligence’s promise that an article cites while examining why leading AI firms keep advancing the technology despite internal safety worries. The article notes that Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon resigned this week after voicing alarm, and that Anthropic researcher Evan Hubinger wrote on X that he sincerely thinks AI might cause humanity’s extinction. It also mentions earlier safety-related departures from OpenAI and Anthropic. Among reasons companies continue, the article lists confidence that gains justify dangers, the view that builders must release models to learn how to make them safer, and a contest in which firms fear pausing would let competitors proceed while winning could be very lucrative. Altman’s comment is cited in that contest.