An incident highlighting the friction between corporate messaging and the gravity of AI ethics occurred during an interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman for Vanity Fair. A company publicist repeatedly intervened to stop editor Mark Guiducci from questioning Altman about a ChatGPT user's suicide.
The Interruption
The tension rose when Guiducci brought up the case of Laura Reiley, a journalist who detailed her daughter’s interactions with ChatGPT in a New York Times essay prior to her suicide. Although Guiducci clarified that "ChatGPT did not tell her to kill herself," the publicist interrupted before the question could be fully articulated.
“Mark, we have two minutes left. I want to be respectful, but I’d like to move on and talk a little bit about the future and what’s coming,” the publicist stated. Despite Guiducci’s insistence on finishing his line of inquiry, the publicist continued to push back, claiming they had to "walk out the door in one or two minutes."
Altman’s Stance on Privacy and Ethics
Despite the PR pushback, Altman eventually addressed the topic, describing it as one of the "hardest questions" facing technology developers today. When asked if the company would use ChatGPT conversations to shape mental health crisis policies, Altman pivoted toward data privacy concerns.
“Should we release people’s private data and some of their hardest moments to researchers? I think probably not without their consent,” Altman said. Following the interview's publication, OpenAI spokesperson Drew Pusateri claimed the interruption was merely due to the session running over time, adding that the company sought to schedule more time to discuss the "critically important topic."
