OpenAI Removes 'Safely' From Mission Statement
OpenAI has quietly removed the word “safely” from its mission statement, which now focuses on ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. The change has renewed scrutiny over the company’s prioritization of commercial speed versus cautious, ethical deployment, raising questions about its commitment to AI safety.
- The removal of "safely" was part of a larger edit to OpenAI's mission statement in its 2024 IRS filing; the phrase "unconstrained by a need to generate financial return" was also removed, shortening the mission to "ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity." - This change follows OpenAI's October 2025 restructuring, which converted its for-profit arm into a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) controlled by a non-profit entity, the OpenAI Foundation. - In the months leading up to the change, several key safety-focused employees departed, including Superalignment team co-lead Jan Leike, who stated that "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products." - OpenAI's Superalignment team, announced in July 2023 with the goal of dedicating 20% of compute to solve superintelligence alignment, was disbanded in under a year following the departure of its leaders, Jan Leike and co-founder Ilya Sutskever. - The company has also faced internal turmoil regarding its safety priorities, including the dissolution of its mission alignment team in February 2026, with members being reassigned to other divisions. - CEO Sam Altman has publicly acknowledged the risks of AI, stating in March 2023, "I'm particularly worried that these models could be used for large-scale disinformation," and has called for societal and regulatory involvement. - The mission statement has evolved significantly since 2016, when it included a goal to "help the world build safe AI technology" and "openly share our plans and capabilities along the way"—clauses that were removed in subsequent years. - The shift in language coincides with massive financial growth, including over $13 billion in investment from Microsoft and a valuation that has surpassed $500 billion following a $41 billion funding commitment from SoftBank.
