What’s New
OpenAI has disbanded its Mission Alignment team, a group formed in late 2024 to ensure artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits humanity. The company reassigned the team’s seven members to other divisions.
Josh Achiam, the team’s former leader, has moved to a new role as Chief Futurist. He will work with researchers to study the long-term societal impacts of AGI.
This reorganization coincides with other high-profile departures at the company:
- Ryan Beiermeister, Vice President of Product Policy, was fired in January 2026. While OpenAI cited personnel issues, reports indicate she opposed the introduction of adult content and safety risks.
- Zoë Hitzig, a researcher, resigned in February 2026. She published an op-ed citing ethical concerns about OpenAI’s new advertising strategies.
Why it matters
These changes signal a shift in how OpenAI handles safety and long-term planning. By dissolving dedicated safety teams and integrating members into product groups, the company argues safety becomes everyone's job. However, critics worry this dilutes the power of staff specifically tasked with preventing harm.
The departures also highlight growing internal tension between profit and safety. As OpenAI explores advertising and potentially adult content to increase revenue, staff focused on ethical alignment are leaving or being moved. This mirrors a broader industry trend where safety teams are often the first to change as companies race to ship products.
Background
- Mission Alignment Team: Formed in September 2024, this team focused on "societal alignment"—ensuring AGI reflects human values and communicating these goals to the public.
- Pattern of Dissolutions: OpenAI has disbanded similar safety-focused groups recently:
- Superalignment Team (May 2024): Led by Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, this team focused on controlling superintelligent AI. It was dissolved after both leaders quit.
- AGI Readiness Team (October 2024): Led by Miles Brundage, this team advised on when the world was ready for AGI. It was disbanded upon his departure.
- Commercial Shift: Originally a non-profit, OpenAI has aggressively expanded its commercial operations, recently introducing ads to ChatGPT and restructuring to attract more investment.
What we don’t know
- Chief Futurist’s Influence: It is unclear if Josh Achiam’s new role has any authority to pause or alter product development, or if it is purely advisory.
- Reason for Firing: The specific details behind Ryan Beiermeister’s termination remain disputed. OpenAI claims discrimination against a colleague; she claims retaliation for raising safety concerns.
- Staff Roles: We do not know exactly what the seven reassigned Mission Alignment members are now working on or if their safety mandates remain intact.
What’s next
- Product Changes: Users should watch for the rollout of ads in ChatGPT and potential policy updates regarding "NSFW" (adult) content, which safety staff had opposed.
- Regulatory Scrutiny: These changes may attract attention from government bodies like the US AI Safety Institute or EU regulators, who monitor how companies govern AI risks.
- More Exits: Industry observers are watching to see if more safety researchers leave OpenAI for competitors like Anthropic, which frames itself as a safety-first alternative.
Last updated: Feb 16, 2026
