OpenAI's Sam Altman claims Muslims fear retaliation for speaking up in tech world

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on Thursday (Jan 4) said that he felt that the Muslim and Arab communities have been uncomfortable in sharing their experiences recently in the tech industry while referring to the impact of the ongoing war in Gaza.

"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," wrote Altman, on social media network X. The head of the Microsoft-backed ChatGPT appealed to the tech industry to treat with empathy the members of those communities.

Taking to X, a user asked Altman his views regarding the experiences of the Jewish community.

Responding to the user, Altman said, "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."

Sharp increase in Islamophobia and antisemitism in US:rights advocates

Meanwhile, rights advocates noted that Islamophobia and antisemitism have seen a sharp increase in the United States and elsewhere since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, in which 1,200 people were killed, as per Israel's tally.

The subsequent attack by Israel on Gaza has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians - which is nearly 1 per cent of its 2.3 million population, as per Gaza's health ministry.

Watch:Sam Altman to launch new AI firm?

Last month, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that in the lasttwo months, when the war started, incidents motivated by Islamophobia and bias against Arabs and Palestinians increased by 172 per cent in the United States, in comparison to the same period last year.

While theAnti-Defamation League, aJewish non-governmental organisation, in December last year hadsaid that between October 7 and December 7, there was a rise of 337 per cent inantisemitic incidents in the US.

(With inputs from agencies)