OpenAI Job Listings Offer Up to $500 Million Pay, Highlight High-Pressure Work Culture

Sam Altman, the founder of OpenAI, has revealed a new senior position that will pay over $500,000 annually. Reducing the dangers associated with quickly developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems is the main goal of the position.

The company is hiring a "Head of Preparedness", Altman said, describing the role as crucial at a time when AI models are rapidly advancing. He cautioned that the work would be hard, saying that it would be stressful and that you would be thrown into the deep end almost right away. The position comes with $555,000 in pay and equity.

Job Responsibilities

The position will entail assisting cybersecurity defenders in utilising cutting-edge AI technologies while ensuring that attackers are unable to abuse the same technology, according to Altman. It will also discuss how OpenAI releases biologically related AI systems and how the business guarantees the security of self-improving systems. Cybercriminals are increasingly exploiting AI technologies to commit crimes, including phishing attacks, online fraud, and other digital frauds, which has led to a rapid increase in AI misuse.

Furthermore, ChatGPT's creator faced criticism in September following the passing of a 16-year-old who had used the chatbot regularly. The child had told the AI about his suicidal plans and ideas, according to an NPR article. At one point, the chatbot even offered to assist him in writing a suicide note, but it did not advise him to ask his parents for assistance. According to research published in October in The BMJ, a business audit revealed that hundreds of thousands of ChatGPT users exhibit symptoms of psychosis, mania, or suicidal thoughts on a weekly basis.

AI has Transformed Drastically-Altman

According to Altman, early indications of AI's impact on mental health in 2025 have already been observed by OpenAI. This is a crucial position at an important time, according to Altman in a post on X. Models are developing rapidly and are now capable of many amazing things, but they are also beginning to pose some serious issues.

In 2025, OpenAI got a sneak peek at how models would affect mental health; today, developers are seeing models becoming so proficient at computer security that they're starting to identify serious flaws. Altman clarified that although OpenAI has tools to gauge the strength of its models, the business now requires a better grasp of the potential abuses of these capabilities.

According to him, the objective is to restrict detrimental applications of AI in goods and the real world without preventing individuals from taking advantage of the technology. He went on to say that the lack of prior instances to draw from makes this task challenging. Some concepts that initially appear beneficial may eventually cause unforeseen issues.