Two of the brightest minds in AI have officially left OpenAI, the company co-founded by Ilya Sutskever and Sam Altman. Sutskever, who served as the chief scientist, announced his departure, putting an end to months of speculation about his role following Altman’s ousting in November 2023.
In a statement, Sutskever expressed confidence in OpenAI’s ability to develop AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) that is safe and beneficial under the current leadership.
Joining Sutskever in leaving OpenAI is Jan Leike, the co-lead of the superalignment group, who made his departure public through a cryptic resignation post.
Their exits come after a series of departures from OpenAI’s superalignment and safety teams, leading to widespread speculation about the company’s future direction.
In response to these developments, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appointed Jakub Pachocki as the new chief scientist. Pachocki is a key researcher involved in the creation of GPT-4, signaling a shift in leadership within the organization.
While Sutskever’s departure resolves the speculation surrounding his future at OpenAI, questions persist about the exodus from the safety team.
The industry is now eagerly anticipating the next career moves for Sutskever and Leike, widely regarded as two of AI’s leading figures. Their availability in the job market is certain to attract significant attention from prominent organizations in the AI field.
