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OpenAI Drops Safety from Mission Statement
🧠#mission-change#safety-removal#funding-roundFreshcollected in 10m

OpenAI Drops Safety from Mission Statement

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🧠Read original on 机器之心

💡OpenAI axes safety & non-profit vows amid $14B losses—profit-first pivot shakes AGI ethics

⚡ 30-Second TL;DR

What changed

Mission changed from 'safe AGI benefiting humanity unconstrained by financial returns' to just 'ensure AGI benefits all humanity'

Why it matters

This shift signals OpenAI prioritizing profits over safety, eroding trust among AI safety advocates and researchers. It may accelerate commercialization but heighten regulatory scrutiny on AGI development.

What to do next

Scrutinize OpenAI's latest SEC filings for further governance shifts before partnering.

Who should care:Founders & Product Leaders

🧠 Deep Insight

Web-grounded analysis with 2 cited sources.

🔑 Key Takeaways

  • •OpenAI removed 'safely' from its mission statement in 2024, changing from 'build AI that safely benefits humanity, unconstrained by a need to generate financial return' to 'ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity'[1][2]
  • •The mission statement revision was discovered in OpenAI's IRS filing released in November 2025, covering fiscal year 2024[2]
  • •OpenAI underwent a major corporate restructuring in October 2025, splitting into a nonprofit foundation and a for-profit public benefit corporation, coinciding with a $41 billion SoftBank funding commitment[2]

🔮 Future ImplicationsAI analysis grounded in cited sources

The removal of explicit safety commitments from OpenAI's mission statement signals a strategic pivot toward commercialization and profitability, potentially influencing industry standards for AI governance and corporate responsibility. This shift occurs amid OpenAI's aggressive funding pursuits and competitive pressure in the AI market, raising questions about whether safety considerations will be deprioritized relative to capability development and financial returns. The restructuring into separate nonprofit and for-profit entities may create structural tensions between public benefit commitments and shareholder interests.

⏳ Timeline

2015-12
OpenAI founded as nonprofit organization with mission to create AGI for public good without revenue generation requirement
2018-01
OpenAI removed language about building AI as part of larger community and openly sharing plans and capabilities
2019-01
OpenAI established for-profit subsidiary; CEO Sam Altman began seeking external funding
2020-01
OpenAI dropped 'as a whole' from mission statement, changing 'benefit humanity as a whole' to 'benefit humanity'
2021-01
OpenAI updated mission to reference 'general-purpose artificial intelligence' and shifted from helping build safe AI to developing it themselves
2022-01
OpenAI added 'safely' to mission statement: 'build AI that safely benefits humanity'
2024-01
OpenAI significantly shortened mission statement, removing 'safely' and profit constraints, reducing it to 'ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity'
2025-10
OpenAI reached restructuring agreement with California and Delaware regulators, splitting into nonprofit foundation and for-profit public benefit corporation
2025-10
SoftBank announced $41 billion funding commitment to OpenAI following restructuring
2025-11
OpenAI's 2024 IRS filing released, publicly revealing mission statement changes and removal of safety language

📎 Sources (2)

Factual claims are grounded in the sources below. Forward-looking analysis is AI-generated interpretation.

  1. simonwillison.net
  2. thenews.com.pk

OpenAI quietly revised its mission in 2025 tax filings, removing 'safe' AGI and 'unconstrained by profit' commitments from prior years. The change prioritizes benefits to humanity amid massive losses and funding pursuits. Employee Peter Girnus publicly criticized it as poor governance.

Key Points

  • 1.Mission changed from 'safe AGI benefiting humanity unconstrained by financial returns' to just 'ensure AGI benefits all humanity'
  • 2.Alteration discovered in IRS tax filings submitted late 2025
  • 3.Criticized by alleged employee Peter Girnus on X for brief safety commitment lifespan
  • 4.OpenAI faces $14B projected 2026 losses, seeking $100B+ funding and IPO

Impact Analysis

This shift signals OpenAI prioritizing profits over safety, eroding trust among AI safety advocates and researchers. It may accelerate commercialization but heighten regulatory scrutiny on AGI development.

#mission-change#safety-removal#funding-roundopenai
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