AI, capitalism, and who pays the price
October 07, 2026
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ask ian
Ian Bremmer takes a look at the week's top stories in geopolitics.
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In this ‘ask ian,’ Ian Bremmer unpacks OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's comment that the public needs to accept AI will cause harm because the benefits outweigh the costs.
Ian says he largely agrees with Altman's framing, on one condition: the companies collecting the profits from AI also need to be the ones covering the costs when things go wrong. He calls this the difference between real capitalism, where profit and risk sit with the same party, and a system where gains are private but losses get pushed onto the public.
He also points to a pattern from past industries. Fossil fuel companies suppressed research on carbon emissions. Tobacco companies hid the health risks of smoking. Social media companies resisted responsibility for algorithms that spread misinformation. Ian warns that AI companies may be heading down the same road unless accountability is built in now.
Ian closes on a warning sign: Americans are among the most AI-skeptical people in the world, despite the country's long history of embracing new technology. He argues that skepticism isn't about the technology itself. It's about whether people trust the companies and leaders in charge of it.
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