Former UK Chancellor George Osborne has joined ChatGPT creator OpenAI as it bids to build “democratic” artificial intelligence.
The retired Conservative politician, who was the Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2010 to 2016, described the AI firm as “the most exciting and promising company in the world right now”.
He will serve as managing director and head of OpenAI for Countries, where he will lead the firm’s work with governments around the world.
“In my conversations with [CEO] Sam Altman, [COO] Brad Lightcap, and other senior colleagues, it’s clear they are exceptionally impressive leaders and that they care very deeply about their mission to ensure the power of artificial intelligence is developed responsibly, and the benefits are felt by all,” he wrote in a post to X.
“That’s exactly what the OpenAI for Countries initiative intends to achieve, helping societies around the world share the opportunity this powerful technology brings. Am honored to join the team.”
Mr Osborne is not the first high-profile UK politician to join a US tech firm, with former Deputy Prime Minister Sir Nick Clegg joining Facebook (now Meta) in 2018 as the company’s Vice-President for Global Affairs and Communications.
Sir Clegg left politics after he lost his seat in the 2017 general election, while Mr Osborne left frontline politics following the Brexit referendum. He has since worked as the editor of the Evening Standard newspaper, a podcast host, and an advisor to the investment firm BlackRock and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase.
He joins OpenAI at a challenging time for the company, with Mr Altman recently declaring a “code red” situation due to increased competition from ChatGPT rivals like Google Gemini.
Mr Osborne will work to expand OpenAI’s $500 billion ‘Stargate’ initiative to build and operate AI data centres outside of the US.
The ChatGPT creator launched the OpenAI for Countries initiative in May, with the explicit goal of “working with governments to ensure that global AI systems are built on democratic values”.
In a post to LinkedIn, OpenAI’s chief of global affairs, Chris Lehane, described the hiring of Mr Osborne as “win-win-win” for governments, private sector partners, and democratic AI.
“George will help to expand existing partnerships and build new ones,” he wrote.
“This is the time to build the global AI stack on the values of openness, the rule of law, and the empowerment of people to use the technology to scale the freedom of individuals to learn, think, create, build and produce – and George is the ideal person to lead the next phase of that critical mission.”
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