OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will donate a majority of his wealth to charitable causes, The Giving Pledge announced on Tuesday. With this, Altman has now joined a growing list of billionaires who have committed substantial portions of their wealth towards philanthropic endeavours.
Founded in 2010 by Warren Buffett and former couple Bill Gates and Melinda Gates, the charity encourages the world's wealthiest people to donate their wealth to philanthropic causes to tackle urgent problems.
Altman and his partner Oliver Mulherin are the latest to sign it, The Associated Press reported.
In their letter, which was released on Tuesday, the duo stated, "We would not be making this pledge if it weren't for the hard work, brilliance, generosity, and dedication to improving the world of many people that built the scaffolding of society that let us get here. There is nothing we can do except feel immense gratitude and commit to pay it forward and do what we can to build the scaffolding up a little higher."
Altman, who started the company as a nonprofit research lab dedicated to safely building artificial intelligence for humanity's benefit, said he intends to focus his philanthropic effort on "technology that helps create abundance for people so that they can then build the scaffolding even higher."
The latest move comes after a tumultuous past few months for Altman, who has amassed much of his $1 billion through investments, according to Forbes.
In November last year, Altman was removed from the post of CEO and was subsequently reinstated. His exit for a brief period had surprised many in the rapidly commercialising industry.
Recently, OpenAI's former board member Helen Toner shared the reason behind Altman's ouster from the company while speaking at The Ted AI Show podcast. She claimed that Altman had made it "difficult for the board" to do their job.
"Sam made it really difficult for the board to actually do that job by, you know, withholding information, misrepresenting things that were happening at the company, in some cases outright lying to the board," she said.
According to the official website of The Giving Pledge, it is based on a simple concept -- "an open invitation for billionaires, or those who would be if not for their giving, to publicly commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy either during their lifetimes or in their wills."
Those who join the cause are encouraged to write a letter wherein they explain their decision to engage in philanthropy.
According to reports, over 240 signatories from 30 countries have so far committed to giving the majority of their wealth to charity. However, critics have argued that there is little oversight to make sure that these community members follow through on their vows.