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OpenAI removes Aleksander Madry from safety executive role, places him in new AI reasoning position

The Microsoft-backed company has had issues in the past with promises made regarding AI safety concerns.

Sam Chandler

July 23, 2024 7:00 PM

OpenAI

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OpenAI, the company behind text-to-video AI model Sora, ChatGPT, and other products, has moved one of its top names out of one position and into another. Aleksander Madry has been removed from his safety executive role and is now in an AI reasoning position.

On July 23, 2024, CNBC reported that OpenAI has removed Aleksander Madry from the artificial intelligence safety executive role and has placed him in an AI reasoning position. This information comes from sources familiar with the situation. OpenAI provided clarification to CNBC, noting that Madry will still work on core AI safety, despite the change in position.

This shuffling of roles comes at a time when artificial intelligence safety concerns and copyright issues are at the forefront of the minds of regulators and creatives.

Earlier this year, Microsoft discovered that Russian, Iranian, Chinese, and North Korean hacking groups were utilizing its AI products. In response, Microsoft was taking steps to ban said groups from using its various AI systems. The company also signed a pact with Google, Meta, and other tech firms to combat election deepfakes, an important effort, especially ahead of the USA election in November.

On the creative side, a report arose yesterday that Conde Nast has sent a cease and desist letter to Perplexity, demanding it stop using the company’s content in its generative responses. This follows a long string of copyright fights and commentary the tech industry has found itself in when discussing training AI models on material created by humans.

Considering OpenAI is one of the leaders in the artificial intelligence space, any movement of executives out of or into safety roles is bound to draw attention. Hopefully the company can continue to ensure AI is operating safely and within the boundaries of any regulations.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler