OpenAI Brings Back AI Alignment Expert to Strengthen Safety Oversight

OpenAI Foundation has named Paul Christiano to its board, adding a longtime AI alignment researcher to its governance ranks as the organization expands its safety oversight. 

The organization reported that Christiano will serve on the Foundation board’s safety and security committee, which oversees safety and security practices across OpenAI, including OpenAI Group PBC. Zico Kolter chairs the committee.

Christiano will take part as an observer rather than a voting member on the OpenAI Group PBC board, and noted that he will recuse himself from OpenAI-related matters and model evaluations in his NIST advisory role. 

OpenAI Foundation chair Bret Taylor said, "Paul has helped define the field of AI alignment through work that is rigorous and focused on the hardest questions posed by increasingly capable systems." He added that Christiano’s background in government work on AI standards and his technical judgment are expected to bolster board oversight and the committee’s work.

‘Alignment Remains a Difficult Technical Problem’

Christiano also commented on the pace of progress, saying, "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." He added, "I am excited to join the team to help."

Christiano is a senior technical advisor at the Center for AI Standards and Innovation within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he has evaluated advanced AI models, including areas tied to national security, and explored ways to reduce related risks. 

He also founded the Alignment Research Center, a nonprofit research organization focused on aligning advanced AI systems with human interests, and previously led alignment research at OpenAI from 2017 to 2021, contributing to early work on reinforcement learning from human feedback.

Earlier this year, OpenAI added two prominent financial industry leaders to the board.

David Vélez, founder, chairman and CEO of Latin American digital banking giant Nubank, and Robin Vince, chairman and CEO of financial services firm Bank of New York Mellon, joined the boards of both the OpenAI Foundation and OpenAI Group PBC.

The OpenAI Foundation is a separate nonprofit that aims to ensure AI benefits humanity. It runs charitable initiatives focused on scientific discovery, civil society and responsible AI, while maintaining control of and a significant equity stake in OpenAI Group PBC.

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