OpenAI disbands mission alignment team
Source: TechCrunch
Image Credits: Nathan Laine/Bloomberg / Getty Images
Disbanding of the Mission Alignment Team
OpenAI has disbanded an internal team that was designed to communicate the company’s mission to the public. The team’s former leader, Josh Achiam, has been given a new role as the company’s chief futurist.
OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch that the team’s members have now been assigned to other roles. The news was first reported by Platformer.
The disbanded team appears to have been formed in September 2024 (TechCrunch). Platformer reported that the team was dedicated to promoting “the company’s stated mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”
An official OpenAI spokesperson described the team as follows:
“The Mission Alignment project was a support function to help employees and the public understand our mission and the impact of AI. That work continues throughout the organization.”
New Role: Chief Futurist
In a blog post published Wednesday, Josh Achiam explained his new role as chief futurist:
“My goal is to support OpenAI’s mission — to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity — by studying how the world will change in response to AI, AGI, and beyond.”
Achiam noted that, in his new role, he will be collaborating with Jason Pruet, an OpenAI physicist.
Reassignment of Team Members
The spokesperson said the rest of the mission alignment team—a group of six or seven people—has been reassigned to different parts of the company. While the exact placements were not disclosed, the members are engaged in similar work in their new roles. It remains unclear whether Achiam will have a new team as part of his futurist responsibilities.
Context: Previous Superalignment Team
OpenAI previously had a “superalignment team,” formed in 2023 (OpenAI announcement) to study long‑term existential threats posed by AI. That team was disbanded in 2024 (CNBC).
Corrections
Correction: This story originally confused the mission alignment team with another, similarly named “alignment” team. The error has been corrected.
References
- Platformer report: https://www.platformer.news/openai-mission-alignment-team-joshua-achiam/
- TechCrunch article on team formation: https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/25/openais-chief-research-officer-has-left/
- OpenAI blog post introducing chief futurist: https://openaiglobalaffairs.substack.com/p/introducing-our-chief-futurist
- Josh Achiam’s personal website: https://jachiam.github.io/about.html
- Josh Achiam’s LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-achiam-13887199/