"The perceived censorship has become such a point of frustration that at least two OpenAI employees working on its economic research team have quit the company, according to four Wired sources. One of these employees was economics researcher Tom Cunningham. In his final parting message shared internally, he wrote that the economic research team was veering away from doing real research and instead acting like its employer's propaganda arm."
"Shortly after Cunningham's departure, OpenAI's chief strategy officer Jason Kwon sent a memo saying the company should "build solutions," not just publish research on "hard subjects." "My POV on hard subjects is not that we shouldn't talk about them," Kwon wrote on Slack. "Rather, because we are not just a research institution, but also an actor in the world (the leading actor in fact) that puts the subject of inquiry (AI) into the world, we are expected to take agency for the outcomes.""
OpenAI historically published research on AI safety and economic impacts but has shifted toward restricting internal economic research that portrays AI negatively. Some economic researchers resigned, citing internal pressure and censorship. One researcher, Tom Cunningham, said the economic research team shifted from genuine research to serving as the employer's propaganda arm. After departures, chief strategy officer Jason Kwon emphasized building solutions and taking agency for outcomes rather than only publishing research. OpenAI's organizational changes include moving from open-source, nonprofit roots to a for-profit, closely held company with plans for a public offering and significant valuation. The changes align with tighter control over messaging and research.
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