OpenAI disbanded the team whose task was to communicate the company’s mission to the public and its own employees. At the same time, the former team leader was entrusted with a modern role as the company’s “chief futurist”.
OpenAI confirmed to TechCrunch that team members have now been given different roles. The message was there first reported via Platformówka.
The disbanded team in question appears to have been formed in September 2024. Platformer reports that the team was committed to promoting the company’s “mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity.”
An official OpenAI spokesperson described the team: “The Mission Alignment project was a support function designed to help employees and society understand our mission and the impact of AI. This work continues across the organization.”
IN blog entry published Wednesday, Josh Achiam, former head of OpenAI’s mission alignment team, explained his modern role as the company’s chief futurist. “My goal is to support OpenAI’s mission—to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity—by exploring how the world will change in response to AI, AGI, and beyond,” Achiam wrote.
Achiam noted that in his modern position he will be working with Jason Pruet, an OpenAI physicist.
An OpenAI spokesman said the rest of the mission alignment team – a group of six or seven people – were then assigned to different parts of the company. The spokesman couldn’t say where exactly the team members were assigned, but said they performed similar work in those positions. It was also unclear whether Achiam would have a modern team as part of his “futuristic” role.
Techcrunch event
Boston, MA
|
June 23, 2026
A spokesman attributed the team’s disbandment to routine reorganizations that take place at the rapidly growing company.
OpenAI previously had a so-called “super stacking team” – i.e was created in 2023 and focused on examining the long-term existential threats posed by artificial intelligence – but this team was dissolved in 2024.
Achiam personal website still lists him as the head of mission alignment at OpenAI and describes him as interested in ensuring “a good long-term future for humanity.” His LinkedIn profile shows that he has served as the head of mission adjustment since September 2024.