The most justified grievance against AI companies is that they have yet to fulfill their grand promises of bringing tangible benefits to the world. This statement was made by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, linking society's negative attitude towards the technology to a "fundamental crisis of trust."
1/2 Thanks Gavin for an especially thoughtful exchange. I don't usually spend much time on social media but I wanted to engage here because it really brings out the heart of an important conversation.
— Dario Amodei (@DarioAmodei) August 15, 2026
First, on regulation, I think that “either concentrate it in the hands of a... https://t.co/2W6vWJAE8Y
The post was a response to a message from investor Gavin Baker, who accused the Anthropic CEO of excessively negative rhetoric and urged him to speak more actively about the benefits of artificial intelligence. According to Amodei, public perception can no longer be changed with marketing: instead of promises that AI will help cure cancer, the industry will have to show real results.
Debate on the Reasons for Distrust in AI
In Baker's opinion, Amodei "lost the debate" on AI regulation and should become a more positive advocate for his own industry, as he is "about to become the CEO of one of the most important public companies in the world." The Anthropic CEO responded with a series of posts on X. He noted that he usually doesn't spend much time on social media but decided to join the discussion because it touches on "the heart of an important conversation."
According to Amodei, he gives roughly equal attention to the risks and benefits of the technology. As a positive example, he recalled the essay Machines of Loving Grace, dedicated to the potential impact of powerful AI on medicine, economics, and quality of life.
However, the Anthropic CEO agreed with the very existence of a negative attitude towards the technology:
"I think at the core is a fundamental crisis of trust. Ordinary people do not trust companies, governments, or the technology industry and always suspect that we are inventing some new way to deceive them."
In his opinion, the reasons for this distrust have been forming for decades, and AI has merely become its latest manifestation.
"That's Entirely on Us"
At the same time, Amodei acknowledged the responsibility of the AI industry itself. He named the most fair criticism of companies like Anthropic as the fact that they have yet to fulfill their major promises of bringing tangible benefits to the world.
"That's entirely on us. I think that's what we should be criticized for, not for all these things related to messaging and marketing," wrote the Anthropic CEO.
In his opinion, the situation cannot be fixed with a new advertising campaign: claims that AI will be able to cure cancer have already become clichés and are perceived by many as deceptive.
"Only one thing will work — actually curing cancer," emphasized Amodei.
The startup's head added that the company intends to intensify its work in biology and medicine. According to him, "incredible results" are possible in the coming years. However, Amodei did not specify what exactly he meant.
Bet on Openness
Not everyone agreed with Amodei's approach. AI researcher Yann LeCun responded that for about ten years, he has believed the only correct direction is the development of technologies that will be widely accessible, shared, and open.
For about 10 years now, I have argued that the *only* way forward is for AI technology to be widely available, shared, and open.
— Yann LeCun (@ylecun) August 16, 2026
Like the printing press and the Internet, AI amplifies human intelligence and efficiency by improving access to knowledge.
To empower individuals,...
According to him, artificial intelligence, like the printing press and the internet, amplifies human capabilities by expanding access to knowledge.
"We need diverse AIs for the same reason we need a diverse press," wrote LeCun.
He also quoted Mark Zuckerberg's position, according to which the very idea of AI so dangerous that the only safe option becomes extreme concentration of power seems problematic.
This approach diverges from Anthropic's policy regarding the most powerful systems. The company does not advocate for a complete ban on open-weight models as a class but believes it is necessary to enhance safety requirements as their capabilities grow.
Another objection was raised by OpenAI GTM specialist Angel Brodin, as reported by Business Insider. She drew attention to the pharmaceutical industry: real achievements in medicine do not prevent it from remaining among the industries with low public trust.
In her opinion, the attitude towards AI companies will also depend not only on technological results but also on product accessibility, pricing, lobbying, transparency, and the distribution of economic benefits.
Previously, ForkLog compiled the most interesting projects showing how distributed databases and artificial intelligence help solve practical tasks far beyond the financial sector.
