OpenAI’s Chief Futurist Is Leaving the Company

OpenAI's Chief Futurist, Joshua Achiam, is leaving the company after nearly nine years to pursue work on AI-related missions outside of it. Achiam led efforts to align the company with its nonprofit mission and worked across AI safety and policy teams to advocate for government regulations. His departure is part of a broader pattern of safety-focused leaders leaving OpenAI in recent years, including several who have joined competitors or founded nonprofits focused on AI safety standards. The role sat at the intersection of the company's efforts to study potential harms and benefits of artificial intelligence development.