Former OpenAI staff challenge company’s shift to for-profit model
Concerns mount over OpenAI’s potential prioritisation of profit over public accountability.
A group of former OpenAI employees, supported by Nobel laureates and AI experts, has urged the attorneys general of California and Delaware to block the company’s proposed transition from a nonprofit to a for-profit structure.
They argue that such a shift could compromise OpenAI’s founding mission to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI) that benefits all of humanity, potentially prioritising profit over public safety and accountability, not just in the US, but globally.
The coalition, including notable figures like economists Oliver Hart and Joseph Stiglitz, and AI pioneers Geoffrey Hinton and Stuart Russell, expressed concerns that the restructuring would reduce nonprofit oversight and increase investor influence.
They fear this change could lead to diminished ethical safeguards, especially as OpenAI advances toward creating AGI. OpenAI responded by stating that any structural changes would aim to ensure broader public benefit from AI advancements.
The company plans to adopt a public benefit corporation model while maintaining a nonprofit arm to uphold its mission. The final decision rests with the state authorities, who are reviewing the proposed restructuring.
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