OpenAI retracts remarks made by the federal backstop

After receiving harsh criticism for her remarks implying that the company sought federal guarantees for infrastructure spending, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar changed her mind. Sam Altman stated that OAI is against bailouts for private AI companies. The specifics: Friar later claimed that her bad word choice "muddied the point" when she first told the WSJ that OAI was looking for a federal "backstop" to assist finance AI investments. The concept of a federal bailout was also rejected by White House AI czar David Sacks, who claimed that any failing rival could be replaced by other significant frontier AI firms. Rejecting government guarantees for private AI buildouts, Altman said that "we should fail" if OpenAI "screws up." Altman also discussed revenue forecasts and future compute patterns in response to allegations that OAI has grown "too big to fail" due to its enormous spending. The AI leader's expenditures were already under scrutiny, and Friar's backhand remarks only fueled the flames. OAI's circular dealmaking, national infrastructure initiatives, and growing financial commitments are undoubtedly raising more questions than answers, even though it didn't sound like they were intended positions.