OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has acknowledged that people are right to be concerned about the risks posed by artificial intelligence, while urging the public to trust AI companies to develop the technology safely.

Speaking at Salesforce’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco on Tuesday, Altman said rapid advances in AI had made it easier to imagine how the technology could go wrong.

“It doesn’t take as much imagination as it used to for [us] to imagine how this could go wrong,” he said. “I think the world is right to be afraid of this.”

However, Altman said he remained confident that OpenAI and the wider AI industry could manage the risks responsibly.

“The world should trust that we are going to do the right thing because it’s the right thing and we feel the magnitude of this,” he said.

His comments came amid renewed debate over whether AI companies should be allowed to regulate themselves as the technology becomes increasingly capable.

Critics have called for greater government oversight, while figures including Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang have argued that AI companies have strong incentives to address safety concerns themselves.

Zuckerberg wrote on X that AI labs had both the ability and incentive to take action on safety, arguing that companies that failed to focus on AI alignment would fall behind.

AI alignment refers to efforts to ensure that AI systems behave consistently with human goals, values and safety requirements.

Altman has also acknowledged the difficulty of regulating a technology developing at such speed. In an interview published earlier this month, he said he had expected Congress to establish a “basic framework” for advanced AI following his 2023 testimony, but that this had not happened.

He suggested lawmakers had struggled to keep pace with technological developments while avoiding rules that could “slow down innovation”.

The latest comments came after a former Anthropic researcher warned that unchecked AI could pose an extreme threat to humanity. The warning has reignited debate among technology leaders over the pace of AI development and the safeguards needed to manage potential risks.

Altman has said AI companies should be prepared to slow development if safety cannot keep pace with increasingly capable systems. He has also called for greater transparency around accidents and stronger security measures across the industry.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang, speaking at the same conference, argued that companies should determine when new AI systems are ready for release and said new laws or regulations were not necessary.

“We don’t need new laws or regulations,” Huang said, describing AI safety as an “engineering problem”.

A major US legal battle over Meta’s treatment of children and teenagers begins on Tuesday, with 29 states seeking billions of dollars in damages and sweeping changes to Instagram and Facebook.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by states including California and New York, accuses Meta of violating federal and state privacy laws and deliberately designing its platforms to keep young users engaged.

The states are seeking changes to several features, including the removal of “like” counts and infinite scrolling.

They are also demanding that Meta:

• Introduce parental verification for teenage users
• Change recommendation algorithms they say are designed to manipulate young users
• Remove image filters that alter users’ appearance
• End the autoplay of videos
• Prevent young people from creating multiple accounts
• Remove disappearing posts such as Instagram Stories

Prosecutors argue that many of these features encourage children and teenagers to spend more time on the platforms and make it harder for them to disengage.

They also accuse Meta of using frequent notifications and other mechanisms to draw young users back to its services.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman described the case as “the largest consumer protection lawsuit in American history”.

“We’ll show a jury that Meta concealed what it knew about the harm its products cause young people because looking away was more profitable,” Coleman said.

The states are seeking damages that could amount to billions of dollars. A ruling against Meta could also force fundamental changes to how young people use its social media platforms.

Meta has repeatedly rejected the allegations.

“We strongly disagree with these allegations and are confident the evidence will show our longstanding commitment to supporting young people,” a company spokeswoman said.

The case is being heard by US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, a senior federal judge in California. Rogers previously presided over the high-profile legal dispute between Elon Musk and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman.

The lawsuit comes as Meta faces increasing scrutiny in the US over the impact of its platforms on children and teenagers. The company, whose market value is about $1.5tn, maintains that it has taken steps to improve protections for younger users.

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has become the first person in history to achieve a net worth of more than $1 trillion following the public market debut of SpaceX.

The milestone was reached after SpaceX shares began trading on the stock market in New York at approximately $150 per share. Investor demand quickly pushed the stock higher, with shares climbing to as much as $176 within the first two hours of trading.

Although the stock later retreated from its intraday high, it still finished the session strongly at $160.95 per share. The closing price represented an increase of about 19% above SpaceX’s own estimated debut valuation of $135 per share.

The surge in SpaceX’s market value significantly boosted Musk’s personal fortune, allowing him to cross the trillion-dollar threshold and secure his place as the world’s first trillionaire.

Musk is already one of the most recognizable figures in global business, known for leading SpaceX and electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla. Beyond his business ventures, he has attracted both admiration and criticism for his outspoken presence on social media and his comments on political issues in the United States and abroad.

The billionaire’s influence expanded further following his acquisition of the social media platform X, where he frequently shares views on politics, technology and current affairs.

Despite the strong opening performance, some analysts noted that the stock closed below the most optimistic forecasts. Several early estimates had suggested SpaceX shares could reach as high as $190 on their first day of trading.

According to Samuel Kerr, an analyst at Mergermarket, the initial trading performance was solid but not extraordinary. He said the more important measure of success will be how the stock performs over the coming weeks and months.

Kerr noted that while investors often focus on a company’s first day of trading, the longer-term stability of the share price will provide a clearer indication of market confidence in SpaceX’s future growth prospects.