Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has weighed in on the growing debate over artificial intelligence, taking a firm stand on cybersecurity risks and challenging those who fear the technology could threaten humanity. His remarks also put him at odds with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman over how much risk society should accept as AI advances.
Jensen Huang says AI cybersecurity incidents are unacceptable
“I’m willing to accept no incidents of cybersecurity. We should not accept any of them. We should do everything we can to avoid them,” Huang told Fortune in an interview in London.
His remarks contrast with Altman’s recent comments to Vanity Fair, in which the OpenAI chief suggested that society might have to accept “some bad things happening” as AI delivers benefits on a much larger scale. These risks could include major cyberattacks, scams and other forms of misuse.
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Altman has also warned of a “coming tidal wave of cybersecurity problems” from rival open-source AI models, highlighting concerns about the challenges of securing increasingly capable systems.
{{/usCountry}}Altman has also warned of a “coming tidal wave of cybersecurity problems” from rival open-source AI models, highlighting concerns about the challenges of securing increasingly capable systems.
{{/usCountry}}Huang, however, believes such incidents can be prevented through stronger safeguards. He told Fortune that better containment and monitoring of AI agents could have prevented the security incidents seen so far.
Huang compared AI security with early internet safeguards, arguing that AI agents should operate in secure environments that prevent them from accessing unauthorised systems and data.
Huang challenges warnings about AI risks
Huang also dismissed concerns that AI could pose an existential threat to humanity, saying the technology was “completely in our control”.
“I don’t know why anybody would want to support the advancement of a technology that’s going to result, you know, in the end of human civilisation as we know it. And so, if they believe that, they really ought to stop working on it,” he told Fortune.
Nvidia plans fresh investments in Europe
Huang made the remarks during a European tour that began in Paris, where he urged the region to accelerate its AI ambitions.
“Europe needs to get in the race,” he told an audience, adding that Nvidia would announce $2 billion in new European investments within a week. The planned investment would add to the $8 billion the chipmaker has already committed to the continent.
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Huang has also backed open-source and open-weight AI models as a way for Europe to compete with the United States. Nvidia is a major supporter of French AI company Mistral, whose latest model was trained using Nvidia hardware.