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Turns out Altman is a lab-leak covid truther, calls virus 'synthetic' according to Spectator piece on AI risk. (archive.is)

submitted 11 months ago by Architeuthis@awful.systems to c/techtakes@awful.systems

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Sam Altman, the recently fired (and rehired) chief executive of Open AI, was asked earlier this year by his fellow tech billionaire Patrick Collison what he thought of the risks of synthetic biology. ‘I would like to not have another synthetic pathogen cause a global pandemic. I think we can all agree that wasn’t a great experience,’ he replied. ‘Wasn’t that bad compared to what it could have been, but I’m surprised there has not been more global coordination and I think we should have more of that.’

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[–] Ibex0@lemmy.world 0 points 11 months ago

"Synthetic" and "lab leak" are not mutually exclusive. It could have been either, neither, or both.

[–] TypicalHog@lemm.ee -1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Everyone who is saying virus spread from bats to humans - you do realize there were people researching on bats in Wuhan, right? If it's from a bat, that doesn't automatically mean from a bat in nature.

[–] self@awful.systems 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

your stupid ass found this old thread by searching for covid (no this shit isn’t in all anymore) and this is the best you can do? fuck off.

[–] self@awful.systems 1 points 9 months ago (2 children)

holy fuck. for anyone still reading this thread, check that post history

[–] earthquake@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago

Holy shit, that shitshow in the Elon thread.

[–] gerikson@awful.systems 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Randomly capitalizing "FIAT", the mark of a true Coiner.

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[–] Hildegarde@lemmy.world -2 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Is there any evidence he was fired for these beliefs? Using the deliberately vague phrase, "earlier this year" in November gives the impression of an author trying to either manufacture causation where none exists.

The only part of this article about Altman is the beginning. This author seems incredibly passionate about virology and is using recent news to draw attention to the author's points on the subject.

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[–] feedum_sneedson@lemmy.world -4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (12 children)

I think it's a fairly credible claim, that the coronavirus originated in a lab. There's been leaks in the past, of similar pathogens - once in the USA and once in Taiwan, I think. Not a very interesting conspiracy theory. Equally, animal agriculture is ripe for the development of zoonoses, regardless of the country. I don't think it's especially important, ultimately, unless it informs better practices in both areas.

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[–] mojo@lemm.ee -4 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Who gives a fuck. Let's not turn this guy into a new Elon Musk.

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