May 28, 2024 - Technology

Former OpenAI safety lead joins Anthropic

Megan Morrone

Illustration of an open safe revealing a spreadsheet of data. — AntIllustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Jan Leike, the "superalignment" leader who left OpenAI earlier in May and then fired off a volley of criticism, announced Tuesday that he will join OpenAI rival Anthropic.

Why it matters: OpenAI's commitment to safe deployment of AI has been a source of conflict at the company since its board's failed effort to oust CEO Sam Altman last November.

OpenAI announced a new safety committee reporting to its board Tuesday morning.

State of play: Leike said he will lead a new oversight team at Anthropic.

"My new team will work on scalable oversight, weak-to-strong generalization, and automated alignment research," Leike posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Between the lines: Anthropic is backed by Amazon and Google, and its Claude chatbot is focused on more responsible answers to prompts.

The firm was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI staff who disagreed with OpenAI's direction as it shifted toward an alliance with Microsoft.

Go deeper: Anthropic scientists map a language model's brain

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Former OpenAI safety lead joins Anthropic

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