OpenAI has taken a major step toward improving its safety governance, establishing a new Safety and Security Committee that does not include Sam Altman. Altman has been CEO of OpenAI since 2019, outside of a short time in November 2023. 

OpenAI has faced ongoing criticism regarding its safety processes, with notable scientists and executives leaving the company over concerns it is not doing enough to address potential threats AI may pose. The company fueled concerns even more when it disbanded the “superalignment team” responsible for evaluating potential existential threats from AI.

Listen to a podcast conversation on OpenAI’s new safety board—Without Sam Altman!

In a move that is sure to allay fears, the company has unveiled the new Safety and Security Committee, and provided insight into how much power it has.

As one of its initial mandates, the Safety and Security Committee conducted a 90-day review of safety and security-related processes and safeguards and made recommendations to the full Board.

Following the full Board’s review, we are now sharing the Safety and Security Committee’s recommendations across five key areas, which we are adopting. These include enhancements we have made to build on our governance, safety, and security practices.

• Establishing independent governance for safety & security
• Enhancing security measures
• Being transparent about our work
• Collaborating with external organizations
• Unifying our safety frameworks for model development and monitoring

The first recommendation is of particular note, as it gives the Safety and Security Committee far more power than previous safety oversight measures.

The Safety and Security Committee will become an independent Board oversight committee focused on safety and security, to be chaired by Zico Kolter, Director of the Machine Learning Department with the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, and including Adam D’Angelo, Quora co-founder and CEO, retired US Army General Paul Nakasone, and Nicole Seligman, former EVP and General Counsel of Sony Corporation. It will oversee, among other things, the safety and security processes guiding OpenAI’s model development and deployment.

The Safety and Security Committee will be briefed by company leadership on safety evaluations for major model releases, and will, along with the full board, exercise oversight over model launches, including having the authority to delay a release until safety concerns are addressed. As part of its work, the Safety and Security Committee and the Board reviewed the safety assessment of the o1 release and will continue to receive regular reports on technical assessments for current and future models, as well as reports of ongoing post-release monitoring. The Safety and Security Committee will also benefit from regular engagement with representatives from OpenAI’s safety and security teams. Periodic briefings on safety and security matters will also be provided to the full Board.

The announcement is a welcome one and represents a major shift in OpenAI’s operations. The absence of Sam Altman from the committee is another welcome move. Altman has repeatedly come under fire for decisions, such as OpenAI releasing a voice the “Sky” voice that sounded eerily like Scarlett Johansson, despite the actor declining to lend her voice to the project. Altman even sent a tweet that seemed to indicate the intention to mimic Johansson’s voice. Similarly, Altman was ousted from OpenAI in 2023 amid growing concerns that he was prioritizing the commercialization of OpenAI’s work over safe development.

In view of Altman’s past, it will be a relief to investors and employees alike that he—and the rest of OpenAI leadership—finally have proper and independent oversight.