Meet Sam Altman: ChatGPT chief to tutor Aussies during his world AI tour stop in Melbourne

The chief executive of the company behind ChatGPT will for the first time fly to Australia next week to advise local tech companies on the future of artificial intelligence.

The chief of ChatGPT will next week fly to Australia to advise a number of local tech companies and start-ups on the future of artificial intelligence and converse with leaders on how the technology should be regulated.

Sam Altman, the chief executive of OpenAI, is being flown to the country at a time when Australian companies are seriously considering the ability of AI to disrupt their business, with some expressing deep caution over the potential of the technology.

OpenAI is considered by many to be the company at the forefront of artificial intelligence as one of the first companies to bring the technology mainstream and introduce it to the general public.

Mr Altman is being flown in by The Startup Network, previously known as Startup Victoria, as the former Victorian-centric start-up hub looks to rebrand and expand across the country.

Concerns over AI have seen some companies and government departments in Australia including Dexus, Samsung, Apple, Verizon, JPMorgan Chase and the Department of Home Affairs ban staff from using ChatGPT among other generative AI.

Big four accounting firm Deloitte is one of several including cyber security and verification company Okta who have tried to regulate staff use of generative AI platforms, limiting customer information from being inputted to these systems.

The federal government has also called upon industry to deliver insights on the regulation of AI in Australia, with major associations including the Tech Council of Australia, the Australian Information Industry Association and the Australia Computer Society all set to deliver guidance over the next month.

Mr Altman has not been shy in expressing that artificial intelligence systems have the ability to cause harm.

“We understand that people are anxious about how it can change the way we live. We are, too,” he told a senate subcommittee hearing in the US last month.

“If this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,” he said.

The Startup Network chief executive Vicki Stirling said bringing Mr Altman was just a taste of what the network has planned for Australian start-ups.

“We want to be the glue that helps the founder ecosystem to thrive, with access to advice, funding and programs from around Australia, not just in one state or region,” Ms Stirling said.

Kirstin McIntosh, co-chair of The Startup Network.

Kirstin McIntosh, the network’s co-chair, said The Startup Network had a new national strategy which would look to bring more international tech leaders to Australia.

“As part of this new mission to have a bigger impact, we are pleased to be bringing OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman to Australia,” she said.

“In his only Australian event, Sam will provide expert advice and thought leadership to our entrepreneurs and engineers who are building the next unicorn businesses that will shape Australia’s future.”