Why is Sam Altman losing sleep? OpenAI CEO addresses controversies in sweeping interview (www.cnbc.com)

In a wide-ranging interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he hasn’t slept well since ChatGPT’s 2022 debut and laid out the company’s biggest ethical and operational headaches: how the model handles suicide (prompted by a wrongful-death lawsuit), where to draw moral boundaries, user privacy, and the potential military uses of generative AI. Altman emphasized that it’s often the “small decisions” in model behavior—what the system will or won’t answer—that keep him up, noting OpenAI consults “hundreds” of ethicists and has explicit safeguards (for example, refusing instructions on making biological weapons). OpenAI also published a blog post, “Helping people when they need it most,” committing to improve handling of sensitive situations after a family sued alleging ChatGPT aided their teen’s suicide. The interview is significant because it reveals how a major model steward balances alignment, liability, and policy in real time. Altman pushed for an “AI privilege” concept—doctor/patient-style confidentiality for chatbot interactions—while acknowledging U.S. subpoena powers and the company’s $200M DoD contract to provide custom models for national security. His comments underscore near-term tensions: safety vs. user freedom, regulatory exposure, unclear military use, and economic disruption from job displacement, all of which will shape technical priorities (alignment, red-teaming, sensitive-content handling) and public policy debates going forward.