The CEO of OpenAI has warned that developments in the technology could make way for a fraud crisis, powered by bad actors using AI voice tools to impersonate individuals and get into bank accounts.
He has warned banks to stay ahead of developments in AI, particularly as imposter scams continue to run rampant in the US and billions of dollars continue to be lost.
However, unlike his competitors, Altman doesn’t yet see a clear threat to the job market from AI. Instead, he believes jobs themselves could change altogether.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Warns of an AI-Charged ‘Fraud Crisis’
CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, has warned that the world might be on the verge of a “fraud crisis” because of how AI voice tools can be used to impersonate other people.
In particular, Altman highlighted the financial institutions that accept voice print as a method of identity authentication. Once accessed, bad actors can get into people’s accounts, move their money and control their finances.
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His comments were part of an interview about the economic and societal impact of AI at the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. It comes at a time where the government is preparing to release its “AI Action Plan,” a document outlining US regulation of the technology. OpenAI provided recommendations for the plan.
AI: What is The Potential for Fraud?
Altman is not the only one who has raised concerns for AI-powered fraud. The FBI have previously warned US citizens about AI voice and video “cloning” scams. Likewise, CNN reported that multiple parents have been targeted by AI voice technology being used to impersonate their children, and to prompt them into sending money to scammers.
Overall, consumers reported losing more than $12.5 billion to scams in 2024, a 25% increase from the previous year. The most commonly reported scam category was imposter scams.
Earlier this month, US officials also reported that AI was being used to impersonate Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Altman claimed that the prospect of a widespread financial crisis where adversaries use AI to launch an attack on the US keeps him up at night.
Altman Not as Worried as Competitors About Jobs
While Altman is worried for a potential financial attack, he doesn’t seem as worried as his contemporaries about the impact AI will have on the job market. His comments arise amidst plenty of comments from Anthropic researchers and CEO Dario Amodei about the loss of all white-collar jobs.
Instead, Altman thinks the consequences aren’t that easy to predict:
“In my opinion, this is too complex of a system, this is too new and impactful of a technology, it’s very hard to predict.” – Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO.
However, he has said that some jobs may disappear, and new jobs will emerge. Interestingly, he pointed towards a future 100 years from now where the job landscape looks entirely different, and workers won’t have what is considered today as a “real job.” From this comment, it sounds like Altman sees AI wiping out the need for jobs altogether.
