Exclusive: AI scholar Dean Ball says he's heading to OpenAI
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Dean Ball, who helped shape the Trump administration's early policies on AI, is heading to OpenAI, he told Axios exclusively.
Why it matters: A leading AI company that has so far proved more deft at navigating Washington than its competition just got someone who knows government on their side.
- Ball is also a vocal critic of both the AI industry and the government who posts frequently about AI policy on his Substack.
Driving the news: Ball is going to lead a new team at the frontier lab called Strategic Futures, where he said he will be focused on shaping OpenAI's frontier AI policy and internal governance.
- He previously served as senior policy adviser for AI and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
What they're saying: "The frontier lab is a new kind of institution under the sun. This is an opportunity to shape that still-nascent institution, and I am thrilled to get to work," Ball told Axios.
- Asked why he was going to OpenAI specifically, Ball said that "many of the key breakthroughs on the path to transformative AI over the last few years were invented at OpenAI."
- "The talent density and energy at the company are tremendous."
"Really glad Dean is joining OpenAI," OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon said in a statement.
- "He's spent a lot of time thinking seriously about the biggest questions frontier labs need to get right: risk, governance, frontier policy issues, and what comes next."
- "We won't always agree on everything, which is a good thing. This is a really important moment for these debates, and we'll be better for having him pressure-test and shape our thinking."
