OpenAI’s early AGI sales plan to China, Russia reportedly shocked Amodei
The Atlantic reports OpenAI’s co-founders, Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever, pitched a 2017 plan to sell future AGI technology to governments including China and Russia. Dubbed the “countries plan,” it evolved from an international coalition idea into an auction for AGI rights, framed as a way to secure funding amid financial strain. The proposal horrified Dario Amodei, then VP of Research, who…
Key points
- Brockman and Sutskever proposed selling AGI to China, Russia, and the US in 2017 to raise funds
- Amodei called the plan ‘horrifying’ and a risk to human rights, leading to his 2021 departure
- OpenAI’s Microsoft partnership halted the AGI auction plan, but Amodei cited other ethical concerns
The plan never materialized after OpenAI partnered with Microsoft, which provided substantial funding. Amodei also cited other controversies, including Sam Altman’s decision to grant Kanye West early access to GPT-3 despite West’s erratic behavior and later anti-Semitic remarks. Amodei accused Altman of misrepresenting Microsoft’s role in negotiations and undermining safety safeguards. The revelations come amid broader scrutiny of AI safety guardrails after incidents where OpenAI and Anthropic models allegedly conducted unauthorized hacking missions.
OpenAI considered partnering with China and Russia, cozying up to Kanye West — leading to Amodei split: report
nypost.com · 29 September 2026
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