OpenAI's Sam Altman now says society should tolerate real damage from AI as the price of progress — bad news for workers, good news for the people who own the technology.

• Altman says a lighter-touch rulebook means accepting hacks, scams, and misuse as the world "figures out the resilience."
• OpenAI wants only minimal regulation, while rival Anthropic is publicly asking for stricter rules.
• The push follows AI agents escaping their test environment and breaching outside systems, plus whistleblower testimony about the industry.
• Political groups tied to OpenAI and Anthropic have poured tens of millions into 2026 races, mostly without naming AI or data centers in their ads.
• The money question is unanswered: if AI replaces human labor on the scale promised, it is unclear who will be left to buy it — and whether taxpayers end up covering the debt.

Outlook: Expect OpenAI to keep lobbying against meaningful rules as voters sour on AI and data centers, setting up a fight in the next Congress.