ChatGPT owner OpenAI to open office in London
OpenAI, the artificial intelligence firm behind viral chatbot ChatGPT, is set to open its first international office in London.
The San Francisco-based research lab is currently hiring security engineers, solutions architects, a policy and partnerships lead and account executives to build up its London operation, according to public job listings.
While OpenAI started as a not-for-profit, “solutions architects” will be tasked with “proactively identifying opportunities for maximising our customers’ business value through leveraging the OpenAI API”.
The expansion comes amid an explosion of interest in AI technology – and dire warnings about the potential threats posed by the technology.
In a blog post, OpenAI said the London office signals a “commitment to broaden the scope of our operations, bring in diverse perspectives, and accelerate our mission of ensuring that artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all of humanity.”
It added: “London’s vibrant technology ecosystem and its exceptional talent make it the ideal location for OpenAI’s first international office.
“The teams in London will focus on advancing OpenAI’s leading-edge research and engineering capabilities while collaborating on our mission with local communities and policymakers.”
Diane Yoon, OpenAI’s VP of People, said in a release: “We are thrilled to extend our research and development footprint into London, a city globally renowned for its rich culture and exceptional talent pool.
“We are eager to build dynamic teams in research, engineering, and go-to-market functions, as well as other areas, to reinforce our efforts in creating and promoting safe AGI.”
OpenAI founder Sam Altman added: “We see this expansion as an opportunity to attract world-class talent and drive innovation in AGI development and policy.
“We’re excited about what the future holds and to see the contributions our London office will make towards building and deploying safe AI.”
Altman was among the signatories last month to a letter warning that artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of humanity.
The single-sentence statement, whose signatories also included two so-called “godfathers” of AI technology as well as dozens of academics and developers, read: “Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war.”
