Los Angeles: Anthropic, one of the two biggest artificial intelligence labs alongside OpenAI, filed to go public Monday morning, and alongside platitudes about the wondrous potential of the technology and the terrifying downside possibilities, it warned of the looming threat of the media to its ongoing business.
The Risk Factor
As the company noted in its S-1 filing with the SEC, public perception of it may pose a serious threat to its ability to continue operating. The risk factors section spells it out most clearly:
“As our business has grown and as interest in us and the AI industry overall has increased, we have attracted, and may continue to attract, significant media coverage, public commentary, and scrutiny from time to time. This coverage and commentary have included, and we expect will continue to include, recurring narratives concerning the potential adverse societal impacts of AI, including that AI may displace or eliminate jobs, may be misused or otherwise cause harm, and may pose catastrophic or existential risks to humanity,” the filing states.
“Negative media coverage, including public figures making negative or threatening statements about our company, whether accurate or not, could also adversely affect our brand and reputation and may reduce market acceptance of our models, platform, and applications or impair our ability to attract and retain customers,” it adds.
The filing warns that as public awareness of the brand increases, any issues that draw media attention may have an amplified adverse effect on its reputation. “If unfavorable media coverage or adverse public perceptions persist or intensify, the demand for our models, platform, and applications could decline and our brand, business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.”
Copyright and Hollywood
The filing also noted the risks posed by copyright law. Anthropic listed the lawsuits and threat letters related to books, films, music and other copyright holders, noting that it may be required to acquire licences to the material, which it may or may not be able to secure. The legal landscape around AI and IP remains deeply uncertain.
“In each of the actions, we believe we have meritorious defenses and dispute any allegation of wrongdoing,” the company wrote. “Legal proceedings related to these matters can have an adverse effect on us because of defense and settlement costs individually and in the aggregate, diversion of management resources, and other factors.”
