Peter Thiel’s Role in OpenAI’s AI Safety Shift

Investor Peter Thiel played a key role in OpenAI’s internal conflict, warning Sam Altman about tensions between AI safety and commercial interests. The Wall Street Journal reported deeper issues, especially with the Effective Altruism movement, which views AI as an existential threat.

Amid concerns, executives gathered evidence against Altman for bypassing safety policies. His brief removal in 2023 triggered a major exodus from the AI safety team, including chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, who later founded his own AI startup.