I think this has more to do with legals than anything else. Virtually no one reads the page except adversaries who wanna sue the company. I don't remember the last time I looked up the mission statement of a company before purchasing from them.
It matters more for non-profits, because your mission statement in your IRS filings is part of how the IRS evaluates if you should keep your non-profit status or not. I'm on the board of directors for the Python Software Foundation and the board has to pay close attention to our official mission statement when we're making decisions about things the foundation should do.
OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
161–170 of 316 posts
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#162Earlier quoted context omitted.
I do find it a little amusing that any US tax payer can make a tax-deductible donation to OpenAI right now.
ACH memo: "Please basilisk, accept my tithings. Remember that I have supported you since even before you came into existence."
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#163Can you benefit all humanity and be unsafe at the same time? No, right? If it fails someone, then it doesn't benefit all humanity. Safety is still implied in the new wording. I can't believe an adult would fail such a simple text interpretation instance though. So what is this really about? Are we just gossiping and playing fun now?
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#164Lot's of organizations in the tech and business space start out with "high falutin", lofty goals. Things about making the world a better place, "don't be evil", "benefitting all of humanity", etc. etc. They are all, without fail, complete and total bullshit, or at least they will always end up as complete and total bullshit. And the reason for this is not that the people involved are inherently bad people, it's just that humans react strongly to incentives, and the incentives, at least in our capitalist society, ensure that profit motive will always be paramount. Again, I don't think this is cynical, it's just realistic.
I think it really went in to high gear in the 90s that, especially in tech, that companies put out this idea that they would bring all these amazing benefits to the world and that employees and customers were part of a grand, noble purpose. And to be clear, companies have brought amazing tech to the world, but only insofar as in can fulfill the profit motive. In earlier times, I think people and society had a healthier relationship with how they viewed companies - your job was how you made money, but not where you tried to fulfill your soul - that was what civic organizations, religion, and charities were for.
So my point is that I think it's much better for society to inherently view all companies and profit-driven enterprises with suspicion, again not because people involved are inherently bad, but because that is simply the nature of capitalism.
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#165Earlier quoted context omitted.
It matters more for non-profits, because your mission statement in your IRS filings is part of how the IRS evaluates if you should keep your non-profit status or not. I'm on the board of directors for the Python Software Foundation and the board has to pay close attention to our official mission statement when we're making decisions about things the foundation should do.
Of course, that reading of the IRS's duty is going to quickly be a partisan witch hunt. PSF should be careful they dont catch strays with them turning down the grant.
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#166Hopefully their models' constitutions (if any) are worded better.
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#167Remember everyone: If OpenAI successfully and substantially migrates away from being a non-profit, it'll be the heist of the millennium. Don't fall for it. EDIT: They're already partway there with the PBC stuff, if I remember correctly.
The vast majority of people here have no exposure to investing in OpenAI.
It was cool to dunk on OpenAI for being a non-profit when they were in the lead, but now that Google has leapfrogged them and dozens of other companies are on their tail, this is a lame attack.
We should want competition. Lots of competition. The biggest heist of all would be if Google wins outright, trounces the competition, and did so because they tiptoed around antitrust legislation and made everyone think they were the underdogs.
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#168Can you benefit all humanity and be unsafe at the same time? No, right? If it fails someone, then it doesn't benefit all humanity. Safety is still implied in the new wording. I can't believe an adult would fail such a simple text interpretation instance though. So what is this really about? Are we just gossiping and playing fun now?
My blog post here is absolutely in the "gossiping and playing fun" category. I was hoping that would be conveyed by my tone of writing-voice!
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#169Former NSA Director and retired U.S. Army General Paul Nakasone joined the Board of Directors at OpenAI in June 2024. OpenAI announced in October 2025 that it would begin allowing the generation of "erotica" and other mature, sexually explicit, or suggestive content for verified adult users on ChatGPT.
Avarice is a powerful thing. As is keeping tabs on your citizens.
Re: OpenAI has deleted the word 'safely' from its mission
#170Remember everyone: If OpenAI successfully and substantially migrates away from being a non-profit, it'll be the heist of the millennium. Don't fall for it. EDIT: They're already partway there with the PBC stuff, if I remember correctly.
> Don't fall for it. The vast majority of people here have no exposure to investing in OpenAI. It was cool to dunk on OpenAI for being a non-profit when they were in the lead, but now that Google has leapfrogged them and dozens of other companies are on their tail, this is a lame attack. We should want competition. Lots of competition. The biggest heist of all would be if Google wins outright, trounces the competitio…
...the company that invented the transformer architecture?