David Robinson, a leader on OpenAI's Safety Systems team, has resigned, according to Business Insider and TechCrunch. His departure became public alongside an essay in The Atlantic criticizing how the company manages risks as its models become more capable.

Robinson worked on safety transparency, including the system cards that explain model capabilities and risks. TechCrunch reported that he described leading the writing of safety reports accompanying major product launches during three and a half years at OpenAI.

A criticism of deployment practices

In passages quoted by TechCrunch, Robinson argued that improving safeguards after problems emerge becomes less adequate as the potential consequences grow. He called for frontier AI companies to adopt layers of redundancy and careful planning comparable to those used in nuclear power and aviation.

These are Robinson's assessments of company culture and risk management, not independently established findings about the safety of a particular model. His argument extends beyond individual technical safeguards to staffing, incentives and the pace of releases.

OpenAI's response

OpenAI said it pauses training or holds back models when necessary to keep capabilities within what it can safely manage and secure. Spokesperson Drew Pusateri told TechCrunch that the company is strengthening research and testing security, expanding third-party evaluation and improving real-time monitoring.

Robinson also argued for stronger safety incentives from outside the company. The disagreement centers on whether incremental safeguards can keep pace with capability gains, or whether frontier developers need more fundamental changes to their operating practices.