--- title: "Former OpenAI Employee Says Company Had Plan to Start AGI Bidding War With China and Russia" description: "In a new interview, a former OpenAI employee made a shocking admission about his ex-employer's plans for AGI." date: "2024-06-08" modified: "2024-06-08" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/former-openai-employee-agi-bidding-war" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "agi" - "china" - "OpenAI" - "the digest" --- # Former OpenAI Employee Says Company Had Plan to Start AGI Bidding War With China and Russia ![In a new interview, a former OpenAI employee made a shocking admission about his ex-employer's plans for AGI.]() *\Image: Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty / Futurism\* ## Big Talk In a new interview, a former OpenAI employee made a striking claim about his ex-employer's plans for artificial general intelligence (AGI) — or, more specifically, how to make a bunch of money off it. During a [lengthy interview with tech podcaster Dwarkesh Patel](), ex-OpenAI safety researcher Leopold Aschenbrenner claimed that he'd heard tell "from multiple people" that his erstwhile employer had, in years past, schemed to start a global AGI bidding war. "At some point several years ago, OpenAl leadership had laid out a plan to fund and sell AGI by starting a bidding war between the governments of the United States, China, and Russia," Aschenbrenner told his podcasting friend, adding that it was "surprising" that his onetime employer would be "willing to sell AGI to the Chinese and Russian governments." "There's also something that feels eerily familiar about starting this bidding war and then playing them off each other, saying, 'well, if you don't do this, China will do it," Aschenbrenner continued. "Interesting," Patel responded. "That's pretty fucked up." ## Fire and Fury During the same interview, the former researcher revealed [why he'd been fired from OpenAI]() earlier this year — because, as he explains it, human resources had taken issue with a memo he'd sent to company higher-ups warning about the Chinese Communist Party potentially stealing "key algorithmic secrets." HR had, per Aschenbrenner, deemed the warning memo "racist" and "unconstructive," and following its circulation, the company asked him about his loyalty to it. The former superalignment researcher claims he was fired for leaking information after the company went through his computer and found documents he'd shared during a brainstorming session on "preparedness... safety, and security measures" with outside researchers. HR apparently took issue with a line he'd included about "planning for AGI by 2027 to 2028 and not setting timelines for preparedness" and said that that projection was confidential, suggesting that sharing it constituted a leak. In a [statement to *Business Insider*](), OpenAI said it shares Aschenbrenner's "commitment to building safe AGI" but disagrees with his characterization of the company's work. We have also reached out to OpenAI for comment about the "bidding war" allegations. "I didn't think that planning horizon was sensitive," Aschenbrenner told Patel in the interview. "You know, it's the sort of thing \[CEO Sam Altman\] says publicly all the time." **More on OpenAI:** *[OpenAI Negotiating to Buy "Vast Quantities" of Fusion Power, Which Doesn't Exist Yet]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()