“Translation: But (revealed a few weeks later) behind the scenes we will try hard to water down your regulations.”
Our reading, the sentence that was checked:
While publicly asking the Senate to regulate it, OpenAI worked behind the scenes to water down regulations.
Assessment: Supported Evidence as of
Where and when Gary Marcus wrote it
Marcus on AI, OpenAI’s Lies and Half-Truths, paragraph 27.
- Said
- Source observed
- live page, full text, public
- Evidence as of
- the cutoff for this assessment
- Assessment recorded
- assessment marcus-openais-lies-and-half-truths-cfd3b2-a2
We recorded 5 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.
The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-29. The source may have been edited after 2024-03-15. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.
What the claim commits to
- Kind
- Observation
- Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
- None stated. This site does not add one.
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Deadline state on 2026-10-29
- No horizon (the release’s reference date)
From the speaker
- to the Senate, May 2023: Please regulate us
- revealed a few weeks later
- behind the scenes
- try hard to water down your regulations
Our interpretation
- Read this as a retrospective description of lobbying revealed after the hearing, despite the satirical future tense.
- Watering down means seeking narrower coverage, exemptions, or fewer binding obligations than a proposed regulatory text.
- Read regulations broadly enough to include the EU AI Act. A claim specifically about a U.S. Senate proposal would require different evidence.
- The target includes the earlier lobbying subsequently revealed in June 2023; Marcus supplies no starting date.
- Assess documented efforts, not their intensity, success, or sincerity.
Counts as supported if: The hearing shows public support for regulation, and records show nonpublic efforts to narrow proposed AI regulatory obligations during the episode subsequently reported.
Counts as contradicted if: The alleged lobbying records show no effort to narrow obligations, or establish that the reported private proposals instead sought equally strict or stronger coverage.
Retrospective: these criteria were written after the outcome was public.
Current assessment
Was it true for the period described?
Outcome: Supported
The dated evidence matches what the claim committed to, under the criteria frozen before grading.
Scored on a plain reading. The speaker named no measure for this claim, so it was judged on the reading an informed reader would take, stated below under our interpretation. Both reviews had to find that reading fair.
- Evidence as of
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Assessment recorded
- Policy version
- 2026-10-28.7
Rationale
At the May 16, 2023 Senate hearing, Altman supported a new regulatory framework and offered to work with lawmakers [e1]. TIME reported on June 20, 2023 that OpenAI had privately asked EU officials in September 2022 to drop a proposed high-risk classification provision and rely on labeling requirements instead [e2]. This supports the claim under the contract’s inclusion of earlier EU lobbying: the private request preceded the hearing, while its disclosure followed it [e1, e2].
Limitations
- The documented request concerned the EU AI Act; it does not establish efforts to weaken a U.S. Senate proposal [e2].
- The June 2023 reporting date does not establish that the documented lobbying occurred during or after the May 2023 hearing [e1, e2].
- The evidence does not establish lobbying intensity, motive, insincerity, or whether OpenAI caused the provision’s removal [e1, e2].
Evidence (2 items)
Supports the claim: U.S. Government Publishing Office,
collaborate with you
Why it matters here: The surrounding exchange supports public cooperation on regulation. Elsewhere in the same testimony, Altman advocates licensing and safety requirements.
- Publisher
- U.S. Government Publishing Office
- Kind of source
- Official statistics
- Describes events of
- Public from
Supports the claim: TIME,
scrapping
Why it matters here: The report documents private proposals to narrow EU requirements. OpenAI defended its submissions as safety-focused policy input.
- Publisher
- TIME
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Where it was said (1)
Said once in the sources this register covers.
: Marcus on AI, OpenAI’s Lies and Half-Truths
Translation: But (revealed a few weeks later) behind the scenes we will try hard to water down your regulations.
- Where
- paragraph 27
- Published
- 2024-03-15
- Source observed
- , live page
- Access
- full text, public
History
Assessment versions
- Assessment marcus-openais-lies-and-half-truths-cfd3b2-a2: Current. Outcome: Supported. Evidence as of 2026-10-28. Public date not recorded.
Recorded events
Assessment publishedBy this site
First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.
About assessment marcus-openais-lies-and-half-truths-cfd3b2-a2.