Joshua Achiam, OpenAI’s chief futurist, has announced his departure from the company later this month after nearly nine years. Achiam, who joined as an intern in 2017, previously led the mission alignment team and worked closely with leaders like Chris Lehane to advocate for government regulations. His role focused on the intersection of AI safety and policy, studying the potential harms and benefits of artificial intelligence. Achiam stated his decision was not motivated by a specific reason but expressed a desire to pursue the company's mission from outside the frontier lab. His exit follows several high-profile departures of safety-focused leaders, including Jan Leike and Miles Brundage. As OpenAI prepares to go public, the company has appointed former White House adviser Dean Ball as head of strategic futures to overlap briefly with Achiam.