OpenAI's safety brain drain finally gets an explanation — Sam Altman's 'vibes'

A New Yorker profile reports Sam Altman said his personal 'vibes' clash with traditional AI-safety approaches, which helps explain why many safety researchers left OpenAI.

Several former safety researchers left OpenAI and later founded Anthropic after raising safety concerns.

The profile says OpenAI disbanded safety-focused teams, scaled back safety measures, and faced employee pushback over Pentagon contracts; Altman responded that employees cannot decide geopolitical judgments.