I want to make sure we get this right, and I’m happy to change the article if we misrepresented the quote. I do think the current version is accurate, though perhaps it could be better. Let me explain how I read the quote, and then suggest possible edits, and you can tell me if they would be any better.
Here is the full Time quote, including the part we quoted (emphasis mine):
But, many of the companies involved in the development of AI have, at least in public, struck a cooperative tone when discussing potential regulation. Executives from the newer companies that have developed the most advanced AI models, such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have called for regulation when testifying at hearings and attending Insight Forums. Executives from the more established big technology companies have made similar statements. For example, Microsoft vice chair and president Brad Smith has called for a federal licensing regime and a new agency to regulate powerful AI platforms. Both the newer AI firms and the more established tech giants signed White House-organized voluntary commitments aimed at mitigating the risks posed by AI systems.
But in closed door meetings with Congressional offices, the same companies are often less supportive of certain regulatory approaches, according to multiple sources present in or familiar with such conversations. In particular, companies tend to advocate for very permissive or voluntary regulations. “Anytime you want to make a tech company do something mandatory, they’re gonna push back on it,” said one Congressional staffer.
Who are “the same companies” and “companies” in the second paragraph? The first paragraph specifically mentions OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft. It also discusses broader groups of companies that include these three specific companies “both the newer AI firms and the more established tech giants,” and “the companies involved in the development of AI [that] have, at least in public, struck a cooperative tone when discussion potential regulation.” OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft, and possibly others in the mentioned reference classes, appear to be the “companies” that the second paragraph is discussing.
We summarized this as “companies, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, [that] have publicly advocated for AI regulation.” I don’t think that substantially changes the meaning of the quote. I’d be happy to change it to “OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft” given that Microsoft was also explicitly named in the first paragraph. Do you think that would accurately capture the quote’s meaning? Or would there be a better alternative?
Huh, this seems messy. I wish Time was less ambigious with their language here and more clear about exactly what they have/haven’t seen.
It seems like the current quote you used is an accurate representation of the article, but I worry that it isn’t an accurate representation of what is actually going on.
It seems plausible to me that Time is intentionally being ambigious in order to make the article juicier, though maybe this is just my paranoia about misleading journalism talking. (In particular, it seems like a juicier article if all of the big AI companies are doing this than if they aren’t, so it is natural to imply they are all doing it even if you know this is false.)
Overall, my take is that this is a pretty representative quote (and thus I disagree with Zac), but I think the additional context maybe indicates that not all of these companies are doing this, particularly if the article is intentionally trying to deceive.
Due to prior views, I’d bet against Anthropic consistently pushing for very permissive of voluntary regulation behind closed doors which makes me think the article is probably at least somewhat misleading (perhaps intentionally).
I want to make sure we get this right, and I’m happy to change the article if we misrepresented the quote. I do think the current version is accurate, though perhaps it could be better. Let me explain how I read the quote, and then suggest possible edits, and you can tell me if they would be any better.
Here is the full Time quote, including the part we quoted (emphasis mine):
Who are “the same companies” and “companies” in the second paragraph? The first paragraph specifically mentions OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft. It also discusses broader groups of companies that include these three specific companies “both the newer AI firms and the more established tech giants,” and “the companies involved in the development of AI [that] have, at least in public, struck a cooperative tone when discussion potential regulation.” OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft, and possibly others in the mentioned reference classes, appear to be the “companies” that the second paragraph is discussing.
We summarized this as “companies, such as OpenAI and Anthropic, [that] have publicly advocated for AI regulation.” I don’t think that substantially changes the meaning of the quote. I’d be happy to change it to “OpenAI, Anthropic, and Microsoft” given that Microsoft was also explicitly named in the first paragraph. Do you think that would accurately capture the quote’s meaning? Or would there be a better alternative?
Huh, this seems messy. I wish Time was less ambigious with their language here and more clear about exactly what they have/haven’t seen.
It seems like the current quote you used is an accurate representation of the article, but I worry that it isn’t an accurate representation of what is actually going on.
It seems plausible to me that Time is intentionally being ambigious in order to make the article juicier, though maybe this is just my paranoia about misleading journalism talking. (In particular, it seems like a juicier article if all of the big AI companies are doing this than if they aren’t, so it is natural to imply they are all doing it even if you know this is false.)
Overall, my take is that this is a pretty representative quote (and thus I disagree with Zac), but I think the additional context maybe indicates that not all of these companies are doing this, particularly if the article is intentionally trying to deceive.
Due to prior views, I’d bet against Anthropic consistently pushing for very permissive of voluntary regulation behind closed doors which makes me think the article is probably at least somewhat misleading (perhaps intentionally).