Another safety researcher is leaving OpenAI, says no company is ready for AGI

Miles Brundage, OpenAI’s senior adviser for AGI (artificial general intelligence) readiness, has announced his departure, revealing serious concerns about the industry’s preparedness for AGI. 

“Neither OpenAI nor any other frontier lab is ready [for AGI], and the world is also not ready,” Brundage shared in his farewell statement, adding, “I don’t think this is a controversial statement among OpenAI’s leadership.” Brundage, who spent six years developing OpenAI’s safety frameworks, noted that this lack of readiness is acknowledged internally, but that industry-wide concerns still loom.

His departure follows those of other key figures on OpenAI’s safety team. Jan Leike, a researcher formerly focused on AI safety, recently exited after criticising OpenAI’s prioritisation of products over safety practices. Cofounder Ilya Sutskever also left, launching his own venture in safe AGI research. Brundage’s “AGI Readiness” team was recently dissolved, reflecting shifts in OpenAI’s focus from foundational safety to monetised applications.

OpenAI is navigating pressure to become a public benefit corporation to retain investments after securing $6.6 billion in recent funding. This path toward commercialisation, according to Brundage, has diluted its original mission to pursue safe AGI. Brundage, who voiced concerns over OpenAI’s for-profit direction as early as 2019, leaves amid speculation about a growing cultural divide. While some researchers remain committed to advancing AI for societal benefit, others feel constrained in what has become an increasingly product-centric environment.

In his departure, Brundage notes that OpenAI has offered ongoing support for his future work, extending funding, API credits, and early model access. Moving forward, he hopes to foster independent dialogue on AI governance, unencumbered by corporate influences, as the field edges closer to AGI.