An OpenAI employee has resigned, alleging that the company’s economic research is drifting toward defending artificial intelligence

It is claimed that OpenAI Become more careful about publishing research that highlights Potential negative impact What AI could impact the economy, four people familiar with the matter told WIRED.

Noticeable withdrawal has contributed to the departure of at least two staff members OpenAI Economic Research Team in recent months, according to the same four people, who spoke to WIRED on the condition of anonymity.

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

Cunningham declined WIRED’s request for comment.

Jason Kwon, chief strategy officer at OpenAI, addressed these concerns in an internal memo following Cunningham’s departure. In a copy of the letter obtained by WIRED, Kwon said OpenAI should act as a responsible leader in the AI ​​sector and should not only raise issues related to the technology, but also “build solutions.”

“My view on difficult topics doesn’t mean we shouldn’t talk about them,” Kwon said on Slack. “Instead, because we are not just a research institution, but also a world actor (the leading actor in fact) that places the subject of investigation (AI) in the world, we are expected to take responsibility for the results.”

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

“The economic research team is conducting rigorous analysis that helps OpenAI, policymakers and the public understand how people use AI and how it shapes the broader economy, including where benefits emerge and where social impacts or disruptions may arise as the technology develops,” Friedlander said.

This alleged shift comes as OpenAI deepens its multibillion-dollar partnerships with… Companies and GovernmentsAnd consolidate its position as a major player in the global economy. Experts believe that the technology being developed by OpenAI could change the way people work, although there are still big questions about when this change will happen and to what extent it will affect people and global markets.

Since 2016, OpenAI has regularly released research on how its own systems could reshape employment and shared data with external economists. In 2023, it co-published “GPTs Are GPTs,” a widely cited paper examining which sectors are likely to be most vulnerable to automation. However, over the past year, two sources say the company has become more reluctant to publish work that highlights the economic downsides of AI — such as job displacement — and has preferred to publish positive findings.