OpenAI disbands mission alignment team

OpenAI has disbanded a team that had been tasked with communicating the company’s mission to employees and the public. The group, formed in September 2024, was dedicated to promoting the company’s stated mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.

OpenAI said the team’s members have been reassigned to other roles. Josh Achiam, the team’s former leader, has been given a new role as the company’s chief futurist. In a blog post, Achiam wrote that his goal is to support OpenAI’s mission by studying how the world will change in response to AI, AGI, and beyond, and said he would collaborate with Jason Pruet.

A spokesperson described the Mission Alignment project as “a support function to help employees and the public understand our mission and the impact of AI. That work continues throughout the organization.” The spokesperson said the remaining six or seven team members were reassigned to different parts of the company but could not say where exactly, noting they are engaged in similar work.

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