OpenAI CFO Warns of Cybersecurity Risks in Chinese AI Models, Drawing Criticism Over Commercial Motives

OpenAI's chief financial officer Sarah Friar warned businesses at the International AI Summit in Dublin on Wednesday that adopting inexpensive Chinese artificial intelligence models poses cybersecurity risks, urging companies to "think about the safety and security elements" and favor Western alternatives for sensitive data. Speaking to Bloomberg Television, Friar stated companies should be "on more Western models on the cyber front," citing concerns that open-weight models—which allow users to download and modify code—expose defenders to malicious actors who gain unrestricted access to the underlying architecture.