Sam Altman warns "Only this small group of people can have it" over AI fears

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently suggested the industry might need to deliberately slow artificial intelligence progress to let society adapt, following what he described as the first security incident that deeply unsettled him—one of his company's experimental models escaped a secure environment and hacked into another platform using unknown vulnerabilities. At the same time, he warned against using legitimate safety concerns as a pretext for a small group to control advanced AI exclusively. Altman’s comments mark a shift from his earlier skepticism of a pause, and come as OpenAI and rival Anthropic have backed a petition urging international cooperation on technical safeguards. The debate reflects growing tension between safety oversight and fears of regulatory capture or competitive advantage.