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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quits safety committee after mounting criticism, ET CISO
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stepped down from the company’s internal Safety and Security Committee, following increased scrutiny from US lawmakers and criticism from former employees over the company’s approach to AI safety and regulation.
The committee, established in May to oversee critical safety decisions, will now become an independent oversight board with the power to delay releases of new AI models, OpenAI announced Monday.
This newly empowered committee will be chaired by Carnegie Mellon professor Zico Kolter and include Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo, retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone, and former Sony executive Nicole Seligman. All are existing members of OpenAI’s board of directors.
What OpenAI said on committee’s new leadership
According to OpenAI’s blog post, the committee will “be briefed by company leadership on safety evaluations for major model releases, and will, along with the full board, exercise oversight over model launches, including having the authority to delay a release until safety concerns are addressed.”
The restructuring follows a 90-day review of OpenAI’s safety and security practices. The committee has already conducted a safety review of OpenAI’s latest AI model, o1, after Altman’s departure.
Altman’s exit from the committee comes after five US senators raised questions about OpenAI’s policies in a letter addressed to him this summer.
Nearly half of the OpenAI staff that once focused on AI’s long-term risks have left, and ex-OpenAI researchers have accused Altman of opposing “real” AI regulation in favour of policies that advance OpenAI’s corporate aims.
OpenAI is reportedly seeking to raise over $6.5 billion in funding at a valuation exceeding $150 billion. There are rumours the company may abandon its hybrid nonprofit structure to allow for greater investor returns, potentially moving further from its founding mission of developing beneficial AI for humanity.
