AI Update: Sam Altman Isn't In It For The Money, AI Companies Attempt Self-Regulation, Tort Law For AI

"In a well functioning society, governments would be doing the AGI project and [nuclear] fusion and a whole bunch of things -- and yet they're not," Sam Altman tells the Financial Times in a new interview. The OpenAI CEO apparently "bristled at the suggestion that he is maneuvering to be at the centre of a universe dominated by AI or that he is acting for financial reward," despite the fact that he's now involved in AI-focused companies working on everything from the generative AI of ChatGPT to nuclear power, cryptocurrency, and lengthening human life.

A collective of private companies counting Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI among its membership has announced that it will "oversee safe development of the most advanced [AI] models," the Guardian reports. Dubbed the Frontier Model Forum, the group has already been met with some skepticism, with critics arguing that "the tech industry [has] a history of failing to adhere to pledges on self-regulation."

Courts have developed flexible, functional tort law in response to issues arising from new technologies in the past. Boston University School of Law professor Christopher Robertson suggests they can do the same for AI in an op-ed for The Hill, arguing that a tort-based approach to regulating AI will be more protected from tech industry lobbying than an EPA or FDA style agency.

Entertainment industry outlet Backstage explores the legal side of how AI is impacting the lives and careers of film and stage actors -- including those involved in the current SAG-AFTRA strike -- as well as what protections might be available. "Read your contracts. That's No. 1, always," advises Tara Aaron-Stelluto, a partner at Barton LLP's Nashville office.

Interested in exploring AI-powered legal assistant tools? For the ABA Journal, attorney and MyCase SME Nicole Black walks readers through the best of what the market currently has on offer. "Lawyers who stay informed, understand the advantages of AI and are equipped to address its ethical and practical implications will be able to rapidly streamline their law firms, increase efficiencies and gain a competitive edge," Black writes.

Ethan Beberness is a Brooklyn-based writer covering legal tech, small law firms, and in-house counsel for Above the Law. His coverage of legal happenings and the legal services industry has appeared in Law360, Bushwick Daily, and elsewhere.