
OpenAI Chief Sam Altman has raised concerns about an impending global fraud crisis driven by artificial intelligence. During a speech at a Federal Reserve event on Tuesday, Altman criticized the continued reliance on outdated security measures, particularly within the banking sector.
“It’s alarming that some financial institutions still use voice prints to authenticate large money transfers,” he said. “AI has effectively compromised most authentication systems, with the exception of passwords.”
His warning comes as the White House prepares its ‘AI Action Plan’ to oversee the rapidly changing tech sector. OpenAI has been involved in the advisory process and is now openly scaling up its government outreach.
OpenAI has confirmed plans to establish its first office in Washington, D.C., sometime early next year. The 30-person team will be led by Chan Park, US and Canada affairs chief, and Joe Larson, who comes on board from Anduril as VP of Government.
The office will sponsor policy briefings, AI training for teachers and legislators, and studies on the economic and social impact of AI, all part of an increasing effort to influence policy from within the Beltway.
Altman’s complaints echo recent FBI alerts about voice and video scams facilitated by AI. US officials reported this month that an AI replica of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s voice was used to scam foreign ministers and lawmakers.
“Today it’s voice calls; next it’ll be FaceTime and video you can’t distinguish from real,” Altman said. “We’re on the road to a major fraud crisis, and quickly.”
To combat the threat, Altman is supporting The Orb, a biometric authentication device created by Tools for Humanity. It guarantees ‘proof of human’ identity in a world where artificial media becomes nearly indistinguishable from reality.
While there is concern among technology leaders that AI will take over jobs, Altman provided a contrarian perspective: ‘No one knows what happens next.’
He agreed that ‘whole classes of work will disappear,’ but contended that new jobs will be invented. Far in the future, Altman foresaw a time when humans would no longer have traditional employment at all.
‘You’ll have everything you could possibly want. So, you create a job to play a foolish status game,’ he explained.
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Altman’s support for The Orb reflects growing urgency to develop tools that can reliably verify real people online. This device scans users’ irises to generate a unique digital identity, aiming to outpace AI’s ability to fake human presence.
As voice, video, and even live interactions become vulnerable to synthetic manipulation, biometric tools like The Orb are being positioned as a safeguard in the age of deepfakes.
Following Altman's visit, OpenAI published a new report from its chief economist, Ronnie Chatterji. The report compares ChatGPT to revolutionary innovations such as electricity and the transistor.
ChatGPT now has over 500 million users globally, with 20% of American users using it as a ‘personalized tutor.’ More than half are aged between 18 and 34, a demographic that he believes will shape the next-generation AI-powered workforce.
Chatterji, formerly with the Biden White House, will partner with economists Jason Furman and Michael Strain to study AI’s longer-term impact, work that will unfold from OpenAI’s new DC base.