Altman needed to convince companies these things were on the verge of becoming a machine god, and their companies risked being left permanently behind if they didn’t dive in head-first now. That’s what all the “safety” stuff was and why he sold that out as soon as convenient (it was never serious, not for him, it was a sales tactic to play up how powerful his product might be) so he could get richer. He’s a flim-flam artist. That’s his history, and it’s the role he’s playing now.

And a lot of people who should have known better, bought it. Others less well-positioned to know better, also bought it.

Hell they bought it so hard that the “vibe” re: AI hype on this site has only shifted definitely against it in the last few weeks.