OpenAI researchers warned execs that Project Q* had the power to 'endanger humanity'

Researchers working on the OpenAI team warned Board members of a powerful discovery on Project Q*.

In a letter sent to the board, the staff warned that progress made on the Project had the potential to endanger humanity.

The letter was unreported, and among other factors, led to the sacking of CEO Sam Altman causing big stirs in the tech world.

Only five days later, Sam Altman was re-hired and joined a new Board that included former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, former co-CEO of Salesforce Bret Taylor and Adam D’Angelo the only member to remain from the previous Board.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 by Sam Altman and ten others – including Elon Musk – and last November released the contentious ChatGPT which has the ability to mimic human writing.

Musk left the company in 2018 and has since said that the company deviates from its original “non-profit mission”.

In a tweet in February, Musk wrote, “Open AI was created as an open source (which is why I named it ‘Open’ AI), non-profit company to serve its counterweight Google, but now it has become a closed source, maximum-profit company effectively controlled by Microsoft.”

He signed a letter calling for a pause on the “dangerous race” to develop AI, which they fear poses a “profound risk to society and humanity” and could have “catastrophic” effects.

While many are skeptical over ChatGPT, OpenAI execs have expressed their confidence in its future, and have said that they “believe in the responsible creation and use of these AI systems”.