OpenAI’s Chief Futurist Is Leaving the Company
Summary
Joshua Achiam spent nearly nine years at OpenAI researching AI safety and made a memorable appearance in the Musk v. Altman trial.
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“Sir… Joshua Achiam… the head of our mission alignment team… whose team we disbanded… so we made him our chief futurist… has decided there is no future… and is leaving OpenAI after 9 years…” pic.twitter.com/9K5akYJ78H
— NIK (@ns123abc) July 7, 2026
OpenAI's chief futurist is leaving the company after 9 years. He recently testified in the Musk v Altman trial. https://t.co/cbnWjVq4Er
— Hayden Field (@haydenfield) July 7, 2026
Big news, Chief Futurist Joshua Achiam is leaving OpenAI. I wish him all the best in the future. https://t.co/nOBnbBHt87 pic.twitter.com/7dwNHMbl3O
— Andrew Curran (@AndrewCurran_) July 7, 2026
New: OpenAI's chief futurist is leaving the company, he told staff on Tuesday.
— Max Zeff (@ZeffMax) July 7, 2026
Achiam was head of OpenAI's mission alignment team, which was disbanded earlier this year. In a memo, Achiam said he's been thinking about leaving for a while, but didn't attribute it to any reason. pic.twitter.com/KDiUAKlxih
A little while ago I shared this message with OpenAI on Slack:
— Joshua Achiam (@jachiam0) July 7, 2026
Cherished friends, colleagues, members of the staff! I’m graduating this month.
There’s not a specific reason for me leaving, or a specific reason for why now. But it’s something I have been thinking of for a while…