OpenAI Chief Futurist Joshua Achiam to Depart After 9 Years
Original: OpenAI’s Chief Futurist Is Leaving the Company
Why This Matters
Achiam's exit continues a pattern of safety-focused leadership departures as OpenAI prepares for a public listing.
OpenAI's Chief Futurist Joshua Achiam announced to colleagues on Tuesday that he will leave the company later in July 2026, after nearly nine years. His role sat at the intersection of AI safety and policy, focused on studying potential harms and benefits of AI.
Joshua Achiam, OpenAI's Chief Futurist, notified colleagues on Tuesday that he will leave the company later this month after nearly nine years, according to WIRED. In a note to staff, Achiam stated his departure was not triggered by any specific event, but was something he had been contemplating for some time. 'The world is in on the secret now and it feels possible to work on the mission from outside the walls of a frontier lab,' he wrote. Achiam previously led the 'mission alignment team,' formed in 2024 to uphold OpenAI's nonprofit mission, before that group was disbanded in February 2026 and he was given the Chief Futurist title. His role involved collaborating with senior leaders including global affairs chief Chris Lehane to advocate for government regulation aligned with OpenAI's mission of ensuring AGI benefits all of humanity. Achiam is the latest in a series of safety-focused leaders to exit OpenAI, following Jan Leike, Miles Brundage, Steven Adler, and Andrea Vallone. OpenAI has not announced whether his role will be filled. Former White House AI adviser Dean Ball joined OpenAI this week as head of strategic futures and will briefly overlap with Achiam.