Open AI Champion Sam Altman Raises Discrimination Faced By Muslims In Tech Industry
Open AI champion Sam Altman said on Friday that people from Muslim and Arab backgrounds are not feeling comfortable speaking about their experiences as they fear that it will negatively impact their careers.
In his post on X (formerly Twitter), Altman wrote: “Muslim and Arab (especially Palestinian) colleagues in the tech community I’ve spoken with feel uncomfortable speaking about their recent experiences, often out of fear of retaliation and damaged career prospects.”
The post comes amidst the ongoing war on Gaza where Israel is continuing its assault killing over 22,000 people so far.
In his post on X, Altman also urged the companies’ heads to treat members of the Muslim and Arab communities with empathy.
“Our industry should be united in our support of these colleagues; it is an atrocious time. I continue to hope for a real and lasting peace, and that in the meantime we can treat each other with empathy,” he wrote.
muslim and arab (especially palestinian) colleagues in the tech community i”ve spoken with feel uncomfortable speaking about their recent experiences, often out of fear of retaliation and damaged career prospects.
our industry should be united in our support of these colleagues;…
— Sam Altman (@sama) January 5, 2024
As war goes on, both antisemitism and islamophobia have grown across the world, with many attacks reported against Muslims and Jews in several parts of the world.
Data suggests a sharp rise in hate incidents since the latest Israel-Palestine war began. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, compared to the previous year, the hate cases prompted by Islamophobia and anti-Muslim, Arab or Palestinian sentiment rose by 172 % in the United States in the first two months since the war.
Similarly, the biases and antisemitic incidents in the United States have risen to 337%, according to The Anti-Defamation League.
Notably, in the comment section of Altman’s post, one user raised a question about his feeling of Jewish asking how he feel about the experience of the Jewish community. However, the ChatGPT figure replied saying that he is a Jew “I am Jewish. I believe that antisemitism is a significant and growing problem in the world, and I see a lot of people in our industry sticking up for me, which I deeply appreciate. I see much less of that for Muslims.”
However, the tech giant’s head has pointed out the career- discrimination faced by Muslims due to Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza.
Earlier in November, following a statement issued by the Harward University students against Israel, many CEOs of prominent companies had demanded the release of the list of students who signed the letter blaming Israel for the current situation in Gaza. The CEOs of many companies wanted these students to be blacklisted so that they can’t be hired in future.
