Former OpenAI CTO Mira Murati testifies under oath that CEO Sam Altman lied to her about AI model safety standards

Mira Murati, OpenAI's former CTO, testified in a video deposition shown during the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial that CEO Sam Altman lied to her about the safety standards for a new AI model. Murati said that Altman falsely told her OpenAI's legal department had determined a new AI model did not need to go through the company's deployment safety board, but when she checked with general counsel Jason Kwon, she “confirmed that what Jason was saying and what Sam was saying were not the same thing.” Murati also testified that Altman made her work more difficult, saying “I had an incredibly hard job to do in an organization that was very complex. I was asking Sam to lead, and lead with clarity, and not undermine my ability to do my job.” Murati was briefly appointed interim CEO after OpenAI's board fired Altman in November 2023 and left the company in 2024 to found her own OpenAI rival, Thinking Machines Lab.