AI Researcher Quits OpenAI
AI researcher Zoe Hitzig discussed her high-profile resignation from OpenAI on "The Sunday Story" podcast, expressing concerns over the company's strategy and broader AI development implications. The episode provides insight into ethical dilemmas facing tech leaders as artificial intelligence rapidly evolves. NPR's Consider This also featured former DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano discussing federal immigration enforcement policy.
- Zoe Hitzig, a researcher specializing in economics and AI, resigned from OpenAI in February 2026, publishing an opinion piece in The New York Times titled, "OpenAI Is Making the Mistakes Facebook Made. I Quit." - Her primary concern is OpenAI's decision to test advertisements in ChatGPT, which she fears will create strong incentives for the company to exploit the vast and intimate archive of user conversations for manipulative advertising. - Hitzig argues that unlike social media, users have confided in ChatGPT with unprecedented candor, sharing medical fears, relationship problems, and religious beliefs under the assumption they were interacting with a neutral entity. - Before her resignation, Hitzig spent two years at OpenAI working on shaping AI models, their pricing, and early safety policies. - Hitzig's departure is part of a wider trend of AI researchers leaving major labs due to ethical and safety concerns. For instance, Mrinank Sharma, head of Anthropic's Safeguards Research team, also resigned in the same week, issuing a stark warning that "the world is in peril." - OpenAI has also recently faced criticism for disbanding its "mission alignment" team, which was focused on ensuring that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. - Hitzig proposed alternative business models for AI companies, such as cross-subsidies from profitable services, or accepting advertising but with a binding governance structure and independent oversight over data use. - She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard and is also a published poet, bringing a unique interdisciplinary perspective to the ethics of AI.
