Around 2014-2016, Sam Altman used a subtle sales pitch for AI, suggesting regulation was necessary because the technology was "so scary that if you don't regulate me everyone you love will die."

Sam Altman constantly compares the development of AI to the Manhattan Project.

In May 2015, Sam Altman emailed Elon Musk stating, "I think we need a Manhattan Project for AI."

In a 2015 blog post before OpenAI was announced, Sam Altman explicitly outlined the existential risk of superhuman machine intelligence as the greatest threat to humanity.