OpenAI Trial: Did Sam Altman Lie About AI Safety? Mira Murati Testifies ‘Yes’

In

a recent hearing on Wednesday, the former chief technology officer of OpenAI, Mira Murati, has alleged CEO Sam Altman gave false information about safety procedures for a new AI model. She stated that Altman lied about the AI model not needing the review from the company’s safety board, as per The Verge. This video testimony is a part of the ongoing legal battle between OpenAI and Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO has accused OpenAI of moving away from its original non-profit mission and is now focusing on becoming a for-profit business.

Here’s What Mira Murati Said

As per the publication, Murati was asked whether the OpenAI CEO had told her the truth when he said OpenAI’s legal team believed a new AI model did not require review from the company’s deployment safety board. Murati replied, “No.” She also mentioned challenges she faced while working with Altman. To check if what Altman was saying was right, Murati said during the hearing that she spoke about the matter with Jason Kwon at that time, who served as the company’s general counsel. She reportedly found that there was ‘misalignment’ between what Altman and Kwon told her about the model’s safety review requirements. “I confirmed that what Jason was saying and what Sam was saying were not the same thing,” Murati said.Murati noted her concerns were mainly about management and leadership issues inside the tech firm. “I had an incredibly hard job to do in an organisation that was very complex. I was asking Sam to lead and lead with clarity and not undermine my ability to do my job,” added Murati. As per Murati, the disagreement over safety reviews for one of the GPT models emerged as a major challenge during her time at OpenAI.

Altman’s 2023 Removal Comes Into Focus

This testimony has again drawn attention to the events of November 2023, when OpenAI’s board removed Altman. At that time, the board stated Altman “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board".Back then, Murati was named the interim CEO during the leadership crisis. Murati had left OpenAI in 2024 and launched her own startup, Thinking Machines Lab. What lies ahead is that this case could lead to wider implications for the future of OpenAI and its AI products. Notably, it raises serious questions about how companies that are developing advanced AI should balance public good and profit.