OpenAI safety leader Johannes Heidecker leaves, spotlight on safety vs. research

Johannes Heidecker, head of OpenAI's safety systems team, is leaving. He's the eighth senior safety leader to depart in recent years. OpenAI's chief research officer said safety work will now be led by Mia Glaese as VP of research and safety.

OpenAI says safety is core to its mission and that understanding model capabilities is key to safety decisions. But former co-founder Jan Leike, who left in 2024, publicly criticized the company for prioritizing products over safety, saying "safety culture has been pushed aside by shiny products."

AI analyst Andrew Curran called the revolving door of safety leaders a "curse." The shake-up shows OpenAI is trying to better integrate safety and research, but the constant departures still raise questions about its real commitment to safety.