Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI and prominent Silicon Valley investor, is widely known for his measured approach to both technological innovation and the complex risks that accompany it. His remark, “I prep for survival. My problem is that when my friends get drunk they talk about the ways the world will end. After a Dutch lab modified the H5N1 bird-flu virus… the chance of a lethal synthetic virus being released… became, well, nonzero,” highlights not just casual speculation but a perspective rooted in expertise and firsthand engagement with issues at the crossroads of science, technology, and society.
