NSW government ‘absolutely thrilled’ to welcome OpenAI ... until someone mentioned the Terminator films

According to The Guardian, when OpenAI announced its first Australian office in Sydney last year, New South Wales officials declared themselves absolutely thrilled. But internal emails from the state's technology minister's office tell a different story. Staffers started joking that Skynet—the dystopian artificial intelligence from the Terminator films—might soon be setting up shop in the city. The phrase "absolutely thrilled" was removed before the final response went out. The moment captures something honest: while governments publicly welcome cutting-edge tech companies, behind the scenes they're quietly harboring the same sci-fi anxieties as everyone else.

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