March 30, 2025
Peter Thiel reportedly warned Sam Altman about AI safety conflicts shortly before the OpenAI crisis
Summary Fresh reporting shows deeper tensions at OpenAI than previously known, with investor Peter Thiel warning Sam Altman about internal conflicts shortly before his November 2023 dismissal. According to a Wall Street Journal report, based on the upcoming book “The Optimist: Sam Altman, OpenAI, and the Race to Invent the Future” by reporter Keach Hagey, Thiel confronted Altman during a private dinner in Los Angeles. The conversation centered on growing friction between AI safety advocates and the company’s commercial direction. At that dinner, Thiel specifically warned about the influence of the “Effective Altruism” (EA) movement within OpenAI. “You don’t understand