Former head of NSA and ex-general joins the OpenAI Board of Directors
Paul Nakasone left the NSA in early February 2024. Now a member of the OpenAI Board of Directors, he is responsible for cybersecurity at the AI company.
Paul M. Nakasone
(Image: NSA)
OpenAI has added a new member to its Board of Directors. Paul Miki Nakasone is a retired US Army General and was previously head of the National Security Agency (NSA), the largest foreign intelligence agency in the United States. At OpenAI, he will initially be a member of the Security Committee chaired by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and will develop recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the security of the AI company's projects and operations.
Nakasone was nominated by former President Donald Trump to head the NSA and led the security agency from 2018 until February of this year. He is a proponent of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act FISA for increased mass surveillance, and stated this in a newspaper column shortly after his departure from the NSA. In April, the US House of Representatives approved the extension of FISA. The US Senate also strengthened the NSA and waved through the FISA with the controversial Stasi paragraph for NSA spying.
OpenAI wants to strengthen cybersecurity, for AI and externally
OpenAI justifies the addition of Paul M. Nakasone to the Board of Directors with increased security requirements, from the protection of supercomputers for training artificial intelligence to security aspects in the weighting of AI models. The protection of customer data is also part of this, writes OpenAI. Finally, AI must be resistant to increasingly sophisticated cybersecurity threats on the way to Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
Some well-known members had previously left the OpenAI Board of Directors. In mid-May, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist Ilya Sutskever resigned after around ten years. Sutskever was previously involved in the dismissal of CEO Sam Altman when he was first removed and then brought back. AI safety researcher Jan Leike also threw in the towel and declared at X, formerly Twitter, that "over the past years, safety culture and processes have taken a back seat to shiny products.".
Security for artificial general intelligence
"Artificial intelligence has the potential to have a huge positive impact on people's lives. However, this potential can only be realized if these innovations are developed and deployed safely," Bret Taylor, Head of the Board of Directors, is quoted as saying. "General Nakasone's unparalleled experience in areas such as cybersecurity will help OpenAI fulfill its mission of ensuring that Artificial General Intelligence benefits all of humanity."
Paul Nakasone explains that "OpenAI's commitment to its mission is consistent with my own values and experience in public service. I look forward to contributing to OpenAI's efforts to ensure that Artificial General Intelligence is safe and beneficial to people around the world."
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