OpenAI Charter
OpenAI · 9 April 2018
OpenAI's founding promise to develop AGI for all of humanity, avoid a dangerous race, and put safety first. The company has since converted to a for-profit structure, and watchdogs have documented a long list of gaps between the charter and its conduct.
What it calls for
- Benefit sharing
- Anti concentration
- Alignment research
- International governance
- Safety evaluations
Scope
Single company; governs OpenAI's stated mission (incl. the 'stop competing and start assisting' clause and 'fiduciary duty to humanity')
What actually happened
OpenAI completed a restructuring on 2025-10-28/29 into OpenAI Group PBC, with the nonprofit OpenAI Foundation holding an equity stake (~26%, ~$130B) and Microsoft ~27%; California and Delaware AGs attached conditions on safety and charitable assets (https://sfist.com/2025/10/29/openai-finalizes-restructuring-with-nonprofit-in-control-state-ag-oks-it/). The Midas Project's 'OpenAI Files' (June 2025) catalogues departures from the charter's commitments (https://www.openaifiles.org/). OpenAI also subpoenaed nonprofits (Encode, The Midas Project) that criticised the restructuring (https://fortune.com/2025/10/10/a-3-person-policy-non-profit-that-worked-on-californias-ai-safety-law-is-publicly-accusing-openai-of-intimidation-tactics). Looked for: any public 'assist' or merge-and-assist action under the charter - none found.