Lilian Weng, a prominent figure in OpenAI’s safety division, has announced her departure from the company after seven years of service.
Weng, who had been the VP of Research and Safety since August, previously led OpenAI’s Safety Systems team.
Her resignation, effective November 15th, follows a series of high-profile exits from the organization over the past year, with many citing concerns over OpenAI’s focus on commercial products at the expense of AI safety.
Weng’s tenure at OpenAI began in 2018, initially contributing to the robotics team that developed a robot capable of solving a Rubik’s cube.
As the company shifted towards the GPT model, Weng pivoted to lead applied AI research, eventually founding the safety systems team in 2023, which now consists of over 80 professionals.
Despite the growing team, the departure of several researchers has raised questions about OpenAI’s commitment to safety while developing more powerful AI technologies.
Weng’s exit follows a string of other significant departures, including key safety and policy researchers, and executives such as CTO Mira Murati and co-founder John Schulman.
While Weng has not disclosed her next steps, OpenAI has acknowledged her contributions, stating that her work will leave a lasting impact on the company’s safety protocols.
