Jan Leike, the co-lead of OpenAI's superalignment group, announced his resignation on Tuesday, following Ilya Sutskever's departure, who is OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist. Their exits come amidst a series of high-profile departures from OpenAI's safety team in recent months. Leike co-led OpenAI's superalignment group, focusing on ensuring that its artificial intelligence systems align with human interests.
Leike was recognized as one of Time 100's most influential people in AI in September. He announced his departure shortly after Sutskever, the other co-lead of the superalignment group, shared his exit. Sutskever, a co-founder of OpenAI and its chief scientist, stated on X (formerly known as Twitter) that he is leaving after almost a decade and is "excited" about his forthcoming plans, which he intends to reveal "in due time."
Leike's brief post — "I resigned" — is expected to spark speculation about their future endeavors. Sam Altman, OpenAI's co-founder, expressed sorrow over Sutskever's departure, describing him as "easily one of the greatest minds of our generation" and highlighting his significant contributions to the field. Altman did not immediately address Leike's resignation.
This development follows several other notable departures from OpenAI, including Diane Yoon and Chris Clark, who resigned weeks ago. Yoon served as the VP of people, and Clark was the head of nonprofit and strategic initiatives. Additionally, researchers Leopold Aschenbrenner and Pavel Izmailov, both of whom worked on the superalignment team, have also left the organization. Two employees focused on safety and governance, Daniel Kokotajlo and William Saunders, resigned in recent months.
Business Insider reached out to OpenAI and Leike for comment, but they did not immediately respond outside of standard working hours.