OpenAI Chief Futurist Joshua Achiam Leaves After Nine Years of AI Safety Work
- Joshua Achiam, OpenAI's Chief Futurist, notified staff on July 1 that he will leave later this month after nearly nine years at the company [1]
- Achiam led OpenAI's mission alignment team until it was disbanded in February 2026; he was then reassigned to the chief futurist role [3]
- He is at least the fifth senior safety-focused figure to leave OpenAI in two years, following Jan Leike, Miles Brundage, Steven Adler, and Andrea Vallone [1]
- Achiam testified in the Musk v. Altman trial that Musk called him a 'jackass' after he challenged the billionaire on AGI safety risks [4]
- OpenAI has not named a successor but is hiring policy-native staff including former White House AI adviser Dean Ball as head of strategic futures [2]
Joshua Achiam, OpenAI's Chief Futurist and a nine-year veteran of the company, told colleagues on July 1 that he will leave later this month. Achiam joined as an intern in 2017 and rose through the ranks as a research scientist focused on AI safety before leading the mission alignment team formed in 2024 [1].
"The world is in on the secret now and it feels possible to work on the mission from outside the walls of a frontier lab," Achiam wrote in an internal Slack message, which he later shared publicly. He said the departure was not triggered by any specific event but was something he had been considering for some time [1].
Achiam's exit makes him at least the fifth senior safety-focused leader to leave OpenAI in a roughly two-year span, following Jan Leike, who departed for Anthropic in 2024, Miles Brundage, Steven Adler, and Andrea Vallone [1]. The departures have drawn scrutiny as OpenAI prepares for an initial public offering and accelerates its commercial ambitions.
From Intern to Chief Futurist
Achiam earned a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence from UC Berkeley before joining OpenAI as an intern in September 2017 and converting to a full-time research scientist by December of that year [4]. He spent years working on AI safety research and in 2024 was tapped to lead the newly created mission alignment team, which focused on safe and trustworthy AI development [3].
OpenAI disbanded the mission alignment team in February 2026, redistributing its members across other departments [3]. Rather than leaving at that point, Achiam accepted a new position as chief futurist — a role that involved studying the potential harms and benefits of advanced AI and collaborating with global affairs chief Chris Lehane on government regulation [2].
The Musk v. Altman Trial
Achiam drew public attention earlier this year when he testified in federal court during the Musk v. Altman trial. He recalled a 2018 all-hands meeting attended by roughly 50 to 60 employees at which Elon Musk announced he was stepping down from OpenAI's board [4].
According to Achiam, Musk expressed frustration with OpenAI's pace in overtaking Google's DeepMind and said he wanted to pursue AGI development independently. Achiam challenged Musk, calling a race for AGI an 'unsafe proposition' given how much remained unknown about the technology. Musk responded by calling him a 'jackass' — not in a friendly way, Achiam testified, but because Musk 'was upset that he had been challenged' [4].
Achiam also offered broad supportive testimony for OpenAI's leadership, saying CEO Sam Altman and co-founder Greg Brockman worked 'unbelievably hard' and that the company was 'deeply committed to safety' [4].
A Pattern of Safety Exits
Achiam's departure extends a conspicuous pattern of safety-oriented leaders leaving OpenAI. Jan Leike, who co-led the superalignment team, left for Anthropic in mid-2024. Miles Brundage and Steven Adler also departed in 2024, and Andrea Vallone left at the end of 2025 [1].
The exits have coincided with organizational changes that critics say deprioritize safety. The superalignment team was restructured in 2024 after co-leader Ilya Sutskever's departure, and the mission alignment team — Achiam's group — lasted less than two years before being dissolved in February 2026 [3].
OpenAI has not publicly commented on Achiam's departure or named a successor to the chief futurist role. The company is bringing in policy-focused hires, including former White House AI adviser Dean Ball, who is joining as head of strategic futures [2].
What's Next
Achiam's internal farewell message did not specify his next destination. He expressed a belief that AI can help create 'a world of peace, unprecedented prosperity, and unimaginable possibilities' and signaled he intends to continue working on AI safety outside OpenAI [2].
His departure comes as OpenAI pushes ahead with plans for a public listing, a move that would complete the company's transformation from a nonprofit research lab into a for-profit enterprise. Whether the steady outflow of safety talent affects investor sentiment or regulatory scrutiny around the IPO remains an open question.
Further sources
The stories that matter, in one email. Free — unsubscribe anytime.