OpenAI introduces new independent safety board, CEO Sam Altman excluded
OpenAI has made significant changes to its safety and security practices, including the creation of a new independent board oversight committee. In a notable shift from the previous structure, CEO Sam Altman is no longer part of the safety committee. The newly formed Safety and Security Committee (SSC) will be headed by Zico Kolter, Director of the Machine Learning Department at the Carnegie Mellon University.
SSC's enhanced responsibilities and authority
The new SSC replaces the previous safety committee that was formed in June this year. It included Altman among its members. The original committee was tasked with providing recommendations on critical safety and security decisions for OpenAI projects and operations. However, the SSC's responsibilities now extend beyond recommendations. It will have the authority to oversee safety evaluations for major AI models and exercise oversight over model launches.
OpenAI's safety initiative: Increased security and transparency
OpenAI's latest safety initiative will enhance security measures, increase transparency about their work, and collaborate with external organizations. The company has already reached agreements with the US and UK AI Safety Institutes to collaborate on researching emerging AI safety risks and standards for trustworthy AI. The decision to make the committee independent came after a recent 90-day review of OpenAI's "safety and security-related processes and safeguards."
Altman's departure amid scrutiny and criticism
Altman's departure from the Safety and Security 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 favor of policies that advance OpenAI's corporate aims.
OpenAI's future and potential challenges
Despite these changes, some critics question whether the SSC would make difficult decisions that seriously impact OpenAI's commercial roadmap. The company is in talks to raise around $6.5 billion in a funding round that would value OpenAI at over $150 billion. To cinch the deal, OpenAI could reportedly abandon its hybrid nonprofit corporate structure, which sought to cap investors' returns in part to ensure OpenAI remained aligned with its founding mission: developing artificial general intelligence that "benefits all of humanity."
