{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/openais-early-agi-sales-plan-to-china-russia-reportedly-shocked-amodei","json":"https://digestai.news/story/openais-early-agi-sales-plan-to-china-russia-reportedly-shocked-amodei.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/openais-early-agi-sales-plan-to-china-russia-reportedly-shocked-amodei.md","slug":"openais-early-agi-sales-plan-to-china-russia-reportedly-shocked-amodei","headline":"OpenAI’s early AGI sales plan to China, Russia reportedly shocked Amodei","summary":"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 saw it as morally incompatible with OpenAI’s mission and a risk to human rights, especially under authoritarian leaders like Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. Amodei’s objections reportedly contributed to his departure in 2021 to co-found Anthropic, a safety-focused AI lab.\n\nThe 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.","keyPoints":["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"],"whyItMatters":"The report highlights internal divisions over AI ethics and governance, raising questions about how labs balance safety with financial survival. Amodei’s departure underscores the tension between ambition and moral accountability in AI development.","category":{"slug":"policy","name":"Policy & Regulation","url":"https://digestai.news/category/policy"},"entities":{"companies":["OpenAI","Microsoft","Anthropic"],"models":[],"people":["Dario Amodei","Greg Brockman","Ilya Sutskever","Sam Altman","Elon Musk","Jack Clark"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T21:37:00Z","updatedAt":"2026-09-29T21:37:00Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"nypost.com","title":"OpenAI considered partnering with China and Russia, cozying up to Kanye West — leading to Amodei split: report","url":"https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/business/openai-considered-partnering-with-china-and-russia-cozying-up-to-kanye-west-leading-to-amodei-split-report","publishedAt":"2026-09-29T21:37:00Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"OpenAI’s early AGI sales plan to China, Russia reportedly shocked Amodei\", 29 September 2026, https://digestai.news/story/openais-early-agi-sales-plan-to-china-russia-reportedly-shocked-amodei","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"OpenAI’s early AGI sales plan to China, Russia reportedly shocked Amodei","datePublished":"2026-09-29T21:37:00Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/openais-early-agi-sales-plan-to-china-russia-reportedly-shocked-amodei"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}