OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has pledged over half his wealth to the billionaire's charity group, Giving Pledge, to provide "supporting technology that helps create abundance for people."
In a press release on Tuesday, Giving Pledge welcomed Altman and his husband, tech industry investor Oliver Mulherin, among the 40+ billionaires that pledged their wealth to the charity.
The OpenAI founder will join other billionaire tech giants like Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, and many more promising to give most of their wealth back to the people.
Altman's total wealth is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion in investments after years of financing several successful businesses in Silicon Valley, according to Forbes.
The announcement did not provide much information on how the donation would be used, although the two said their wealth would be dedicated to "improve the world of many people that built the scaffolding of society that let us get here."
Where Does the Money Go?
While the effort to donate to the Giving Pledge foundation may sound beneficial to all, reports on the organization depict a different picture.
A report from the Institute for Policy Studies last November raised questions on the actual impact of the pledges to its supposed beneficiaries.
According to the study, most donations from billionaire philanthropists were sent to private donations where they could "wind up in private family foundations at the end of the day."
It does not help that most of the wealth pledged towards the charity eventually becomes smaller than the current wealth of their donors as their earnings continue to balloon while donations trickle.
Altman Joins Giving Pledge Charity Amid Growing Safety Issues in OpenAI Development
Altman's promise of donations towards the Giving Pledge comes in as reports and concerns on his company's role in people's safety continue to grow.
OpenAI recently dissolved its "superalignment" team, the startup's safety group tasked with keeping people from AI's harmful effects, as several team leaders left the company.
One of the safety team's leaders, Jan Leike, reportedly left OpenAI after years of disagreement with its leadership regarding its "core priorities."
According to Leike, the company's "safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products" as it ramps up distribution of barely tested AI products.
But over the past years, safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.
— Jan Leike (@janleike) May 17, 2024
The lead AI researcher later joined OpenAI's rival, the Amazon-backed Anthropic, as part of its superalignment team.
Leike's concerns on OpenAI echo similar worries from other AI experts amid reports of its products becoming more prone to "AI hallucinations" and security issues.
