OpenAI has disbanded a team dedicated to communicating the company’s mission to the public and its employees. The former leader of that team, Josh Achiam, has transitioned into a new role as the company’s “chief futurist.” OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch that the members of the disbanded team have been reassigned to other roles within the organization. The news was first reported by Platformer.
This specific team appears to have been formed in September of 2024. According to reports, the team was focused on promoting the company’s stated mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. An official OpenAI spokesperson described the Mission Alignment project as a support function to help employees and the public understand the company’s mission and the impact of AI, noting that this work continues throughout the organization.
In a blog post published Wednesday, Josh Achiam explained his new position as chief futurist. He wrote that his goal is to support OpenAI’s mission by studying how the world will change in response to AI, artificial general intelligence, and technologies beyond. Achiam noted that in this new role he will be collaborating with Jason Pruet, an OpenAI physicist.
A spokesperson stated the rest of the mission alignment team, a group of six or seven people, have been reassigned to different parts of the company. The spokesperson could not specify where exactly the team members were assigned but indicated they are engaged in similar work in their new roles. It remains unclear whether Achiam will have a new team as part of his futurist position.
The spokesperson attributed the disbanding of the team to the kinds of routine reorganizations that occur within a fast-moving company.
OpenAI previously had a similarly named “superalignment team,” which was formed in 2023 and focused on studying long-term existential threats posed by AI. That team was disbanded in 2024.
Achiam’s personal website still lists him as head of mission alignment at OpenAI and describes him as being interested in ensuring that the long-term future of humanity is good. His LinkedIn profile shows he served as head of mission alignment since September 2024.
A correction was issued noting this story originally confused mission alignment with another, similarly named team called alignment. The report has been corrected.