Key Takeaways
- Former Uber executive Scott Schools is named Chief Compliance Officer at OpenAI.
- The action is taken while it considers reorganizing as a public benefit corporation.
- It is anticipated that the appointment will increase OpenAI’s emphasis on developing and adhering to ethical AI.
Scott Schools, a former Uber chief ethics and compliance officer, has been named Chief Compliance Officer at OpenAI.
Schools, a former deputy attorney general at the US Justice Department, will collaborate with the OpenAI Board of Directors and other teams inside the organization, according to the announcement made on Tuesday, October 22.
With schools on board, OpenAI intends to restructure its initiatives to conform to ethical norms and AI governance frameworks, particularly as the business expands and faces more regulatory scrutiny both domestically and internationally.
The AI startup OpenAI is intensifying its preparations to become a public benefit corporation (PBC) in order to promote social welfare alongside profit production, and this appointment comes amid broader reorganization debates within the company.
This change in business strategy is seen to be essential to luring the substantial investments required for its ambitious plans, such as its aim of raising $5 billion in a fresh round of funding, which would increase the company’s worth to more than $150 billion.
A non-profit board now runs OpenAI’s for-profit business; this structure has irritated some investors. The reorganization may help streamline OpenAI’s governance.
The announcement comes after the ChatGPT creator experienced a slew of high-profile management departures in recent months, including the resignation of two top researchers and Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati.
OpenAI understands that controlling its AI regulatory compliance and ethical AI development drive will be essential to preserving investor confidence in the company, in addition to facilitating a for-profit business model through these structural changes.
