OpenAI Staffer Quits, Alleging Company’s Economic Research Is Drifting Into AI Advocacy

OpenAI has allegedly become more guarded about publishing research that highlights the potentially negative impact that AI could have on the economy, four people familiar with the matter tell WIRED.

The perceived pullback has contributed to the departure of at least two employees on OpenAI’s economic research team in recent months, according to the same four people, who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity.

One of these employees, Tom Cunningham, left the company entirely in September after concluding it had become difficult to publish high-quality research, WIRED has learned. In a parting message shared internally, Cunningham wrote that the team faced a growing tension between conducting rigorous analysis and functioning as a de facto advocacy arm for OpenAI, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Cunningham declined WIRED’s request for comment.

OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon addressed these concerns in an internal memo following Cunningham’s departure. In a copy of the message obtained by WIRED, Kwon argued that OpenAI must act as a responsible leader in the AI sector and should not only raise problems with the technology, but also “build the solutions.”

“My POV on hard subjects is not that we shouldn’t talk about them,” Kwon said on Slack. “Rather, because we are not just a research institution, but also an actor in the world (the leading actor in fact) that puts the subject of inquiry (AI) into the world, we are expected to take agency for the outcomes.”

In a statement to WIRED, OpenAI spokesperson Rob Friedlander said the company hired its first chief economist, Aaron Chatterji, last year and has since expanded the scope of its economic research.

“The economic research team conducts rigorous analysis that helps OpenAI, policymakers, and the public understand how people are using AI and how it is shaping the broader economy, including where benefits are emerging and where societal impacts or disruptions may arise as the technology evolves,” Friedlander said.

The alleged shift comes as OpenAI deepens its multibillion-dollar partnerships with corporations and governments, cementing itself as a central player in the global economy. Experts believe the technology OpenAI is developing could transform how people work, although there are still large questions about when this change will happen and to what extent it will impact people and global markets.

Since 2016, OpenAI has regularly released research on how its own systems could reshape labor and shared data with outside economists. In 2023 it copublished “GPTs Are GPTs,” a widely cited paper investigating which sectors were likely going to be most vulnerable to automation. Over the past year, however, two sources say the company has become more reluctant to release work that highlights the economic downsides of AI—such as job displacement—and has favored publishing positive findings.