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Mira Murati

former chief technology officer of OpenAI

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I think they’re both possibilities. I’m very optimistic that we can make sure that it goes well. But the technology itself inherently carries both possibilities, and it’s not unlike other tools that we’ve built in the way that there is misuse and there is a possibility for really horrible things, even catastrophic events. And then what’s unique about this is the fact that there is also the existential threat that, you know, it’s basically the end of civilization.

Exact quote, beginning

Mira Murati

former chief technology officer of OpenAI

Asked about AI's future in an interview published in 2023, Mira Murati said she was optimistic it could go well but that AI carried a small chance of an existential threat ending civilization.

Chief technology officer of OpenAIPublished October 5, 2023 · date of remarks not establishedFortune original interview

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Surrounding words

So it’s about how we can build regulation that will mitigate that. We’ve seen two camps emerge on the future of AI—one being very utopian, and one that sees this as an existential threat. What’s your hope for what that future looks like? I think they’re both possibilities. I’m very optimistic that we can make sure that it goes well. But the technology itself inherently carries both possibilities, and it’s not unlike other tools that we’ve built in the way that there is misuse and there is a possibility for really horrible things, even catastrophic events. And then what’s unique about this is the fact that there is also the existential threat that, you know, it’s basically the end of civilization. I think there is [only] a small chance of that happening, but there is some small chance, and so it is very much worth thinking about. We have a whole team dedicated to this, and a ton of compute power. We call this project Super Alignment, and it’s all about how we align these systems and make sure they’re always acting in accordance with our values. And that’s difficult.

What this quote does not say

  • Fortune says the interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
  • The interview event date is not disclosed.

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  • Quote located in the captured page; spacing normalised for display.

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Statements they signed

FROM THE SIGNED STATEMENT

Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.

Signed statement: “Statement on AI Extinction Risk” (CAIS)

Mira Murati

former chief technology officer of OpenAI

Signed as part of a group statement. Not spoken.

Mira Murati signed the Statement on AI Extinction Risk, which says reducing extinction risk from AI should be a global priority alongside pandemics and nuclear war.

CTO, OpenAIDate not establishedStatement on AI Extinction Risk

SourceArchived
Context and checks

Surrounding words

Tony (Yuhuai) Wu Co-Founder, xAI AI Scientists Marian Rogers Croak VP Center for Responsible AI and Human Centered Technology, Google Other Notable Figures Andrew Barto Professor Emeritus, University of Massachusetts AI Scientists Mira Murati CTO, OpenAI Other Notable Figures Jaime Fernández Fisac Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Princeton University AI Scientists Diyi Yang Assistant Professor, Stanford University AI Scientists Gillian Hadfield

What this quote does not say

  • Roster observed 2026-08-19; signing date unknown.

How this was checked

  • The organiser's own roster lists this person as a signer.

Reviewed by

an AI reviewer that read the whole source