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OpenAI exits AI ethics lead role with no replacement named
OpenAI has not replaced Chloé Bakalar, its only dedicated ethicist, after her July departure, following other safety and alignment leadership exits.
Chloé Bakalar, OpenAI's AI ethics lead and the company's only dedicated ethicist, left the company last month without a public announcement, the Financial Times reported, citing a person familiar with her role.
The paper said OpenAI has not replaced Bakalar, whose work focused on ethical approaches to model development, how people interact with AI, and questions including machine consciousness. Bakalar previously spent six years as chief ethicist at Meta, where she helped build AI ethics programs and incorporated them into products including Instagram and Facebook, according to the report.
Her departure followed exits at OpenAI of other roles tied to safety and alignment, including Johannes Heidecke, head of safety systems, and Joshua Achiam, chief futurist and formerly head of mission alignment, the Financial Times said.
OpenAI’s spokesperson told the outlet that AI ethics is not housed with one owner or team, and that ethical considerations are embedded across research teams, while the company has also introduced systems in recent months to help prevent models from misbehaving. The report also noted OpenAI completed a $7 billion buyback of employee shares at an $852 billion valuation, as it prepares for a possible listing, and has paused work on its next major model, Astra, citing uncertainty tied to its internal cyber-risk scale.