Artificial intelligence guru Sam Altman has warned the technology could be used to sway American voters in the 2024 election.

One concern of OpenAI co-founder Altman – who was spectacularly fired then reinstated as the company’s CEO last month – is that the technology could be used to scan voters’ social media posts.

He says people could then be targeted with personalized, AI-generated disinformation including highly emotive messages that could shift their voting preferences.  

The tycoon, whose firm is behind ChatGPT, believes AI ‘will be the most powerful technology humanity has yet invented’.

But, he told the audience at Time magazine’s annual gala in New York City, it will create potent tools for those looking to sway an election, enabling techniques far more sophisticated than those currently available.

Altman, speaking after being named Time’s CEO of the year, warned of how AI can empower troll farms in their quest to interfere with elections.  

‘They make one great meme, and that spreads out and all of us see the same thing on Facebook or Twitter. That will continue to happen and get better.

‘But the thing I am more concerned about: What if an AI reads everything you have ever written online – every tweet, every article, every everything? And right at the exact moment sends you one message, customized just for you, that really changes how you think about the world.

‘That’s a new kind of interference that just wasn’t possible before AI.’

The St Louis-born tech entrepreneur, in a discussion with Time’s editor in chief Sam Jacobs, insisted he was optimistic about AI’s potential, presenting a generally sunny picture of medical advances and increased access to learning.

‘I think we will see education changed deeply and improved forever,’ he said. ‘I think the kids in kindergarten today, by the time they reach 12th grade will be smarter and better prepared than the best kids of today.’

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