OpenAI Chief Futurist Joshua Achiam is leaving the company later this month after nearly nine years at the AI firm. According to a report by Wired, Joshua Achiam informed employees of his decision in a note on Tuesday (July 7), saying his departure was not driven by any single reason but was something he had been considering for some time. “The world is in on the secret now and it feels possible to work on the mission from outside the walls of a frontier lab”, Achiam wrote in a note to staff obtained by the publication. “I believe we can get to a world of peace, unprecedented prosperity, and unimaginable possibilities, social and scientific,” he said , adding “Whatever I do next, I will continue to work with you on making this vision real.”Joshua Achiam has played a key role in OpenAI‘s AI safety and policy efforts. He previously led the company’s mission alignment team, which was created to help ensure the company’s AI systems benefit humanity. Joshua Achiam most recently served as OpenAI’s chief futurist after the company disbanded its mission alignment team in February. His role connected OpenAI’s AI safety and policy teams. He also worked with senior leaders, including global affairs chief Chris Lehane, on government policies aligned with OpenAI’s goal of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits humanity.
Exit comes as OpenAI prepares for IPO
Joshua Achiam is the latest safety-focused leader to leave OpenAI as the company prepares to go public soon. Previously, Jan Leike, who co-led OpenAI’s Superalignment team, left for Anthropic in 2024. Other former OpenAI safety researchers, including Miles Brundage, Steven Adler and Andrea Vallone, have also departed in recent years.Achiam joined OpenAI as an intern in 2017 before becoming a research scientist focused on AI safety. According to Wired, he was known inside the company for supporting OpenAI’s safety mission while also occasionally criticizing parts of the broader AI safety community.Earlier this year, Achiam testified in federal court that he challenged Elon Musk’s comments before Musk left OpenAI in 2018, expressing concerns that developing artificial general intelligence at Tesla could come at the expense of safety.
