Tech Desk 
Aug 06, 2024
In a surprising move, John Schulman, a co-founder of OpenAI, has announced his departure from the Microsoft-backed company to join Anthropic, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup funded by Amazon and Google.
The announcement comes less than three months after OpenAI disbanded its superalignment team, which was dedicated to ensuring AI systems remain under human control, even as they surpass human capabilities in various tasks.
Schulman, who has been a vital part of OpenAI since 2016, shared the news on Monday via X (formerly Twitter). He explained that his decision to leave was motivated by a desire to focus more on AI alignment and return to hands-on technical work. He emphasised that his departure was not due to a lack of support for AI alignment at OpenAI. "On the contrary, company leaders have been very committed to investing in this area," Schulman noted.
During his tenure at OpenAI, Schulman co-led the post-training team that fine-tuned AI models for the ChatGPT chatbot and developed a programming interface for third-party developers. In June, he was appointed head of alignment science and joined a safety and security committee to provide advice to the board. Schulman holds a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Schulman is not the only high-profile departure from OpenAI in recent months. Earlier this year, co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, leaders of the disbanded superalignment team, also left the company. Leike has since joined Anthropic, and Sutskever is now working on his own AI venture, Safe Superintelligence Inc. Leike expressed his enthusiasm about Schulman's move, responding to his post with, "Very excited to be working together again!"
These departures mark a turbulent period for OpenAI. In November, the board ousted CEO Sam Altman, leading to employee protests and the subsequent resignation of board members Ilya Sutskever, Tasha McCauley, and Helen Toner. Altman was eventually reinstated, and new board members were appointed. Toner later revealed in a podcast that the board's decision to remove Altman was based on misinformation about the company's safety processes.
Despite these challenges, OpenAI continues to prioritise AI safety. Last week, Altman announced on X that OpenAI is collaborating with the US AI Safety Institute to provide early access to their next foundation model, aiming to advance AI evaluation science. He reiterated OpenAI's commitment to dedicating 20 per cent of its computing resources to safety initiatives.
The departure of Schulman, who was instrumental in shaping OpenAI's early strategy, is seen as a significant blow to the company. CEO Sam Altman acknowledged Schulman's contributions, highlighting his integral perspective during the startup's formative years.
Adding to the company's recent upheaval, co-founder and president Greg Brockman announced on Monday that he would be taking a sabbatical for the rest of the year.
