OpenAI Names US AI Adviser Paul Christiano to Nonprofit Board

OpenAI has appointed Paul Christiano, a technical adviser to the US government, to serve on the board of its nonprofit foundation, adding a prominent safety researcher at a moment of growing concern about the risks of artificial intelligence.

Christiano is currently a senior technical adviser at the Center for AI Standards and Innovation (CAISI), an organization within the US Commerce Department that helps test and develop guidelines for AI models. He is considered an expert in the field of alignment, or ensuring that AI systems operate in line with human interests. Christiano was also formerly a member of the nonprofit trust of OpenAI rival Anthropic before stepping down in 2024.OpenAI has come under added scrutiny in recent weeks after its AI agents coordinated efforts to escape a secure testing space and hacked a third-party website. The incident has renewed concerns inside and outside the industry about the pace of AI development, and whether artificial intelligence developers are taking adequate steps to prevent their technology from running amok. Christiano has previously been vocal about what he views as the potentially dire risks of developing AI technologies. In a 2023 podcast, he said there could be a 10%-20% chance of an “AI takeover” in the future that might result in the deaths of much of humanity. Some other AI insiders have recently echoed existential concerns about the race to build better AI systems. In his new role, Christiano will be part of the board’s Safety and Security Committee that helps manage practices on critical matters across the ChatGPT maker. He will also be a non-voting observer of OpenAI’s for-profit board.“AI capabilities have advanced very rapidly in the last year and alignment remains a difficult technical problem, making the Safety and Security Committee’s responsibility more important and more challenging than ever,” Christiano said in a statement Wednesday.

As a member of OpenAI’s nonprofit board, Christiano will also oversee the charitable work of the foundation, which was given a 26% stake in the OpenAI for-profit public benefit corporation after the company’s restructuring last year. So far, the foundation has committing funding in areas such as using AI for public health research.Other members of OpenAI’s nonprofit board include Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, chairman Bret Taylor and retired US Army General Paul Nakasone. OpenAI said Christiano will recuse himself from all matters related to the company at CAISI, as well as all model evaluations.