# OpenAI: Known and Suspected Ties to Intelligence, Military, Government, and Academic Entities

## 🌐 Individuals with Intelligence/Government Backgrounds at OpenAI

- Name: Paul M. Nakasone
  Past Role:
    - Director, NSA
    - Commander, U.S. Cyber Command
  Current OpenAI Role:
    - Board Member
    - Safety & Security Committee

- Name: Rob Joyce
  Past Role:
    - NSA Cybersecurity Leader
    - White House National Security Council Cyber Coordinator
  OpenAI Role:
    - Security Advisor (consulted role)

- Name: John P. Carlin
  Past Role:
    - DOJ National Security Division Head
    - FBI Chief of Staff
  OpenAI Role:
    - Advisor, Safety & Security Committee

- Name: Anna Makanju
  Past Role:
    - NSC Director for Russia/Eurasia
    - Department of Defense and State Department Policy Advisor
  OpenAI Role:
    - VP of Global Affairs

- Name: Helen Toner
  Past Role:
    - Georgetown CSET (Defense-funded AI think tank)
  OpenAI Role:
    - Former Board Member (resigned 2023)

- Name: Chris Darby
  Past Role:
    - CEO of In-Q-Tel (CIA’s venture capital firm)
  Current Role:
    - AI Policy Advisor (not employed by OpenAI, but associated with related policy networks)

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## 🏛️ Partnered / Collaborating Institutions

- Organization: DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
  Nature of Relationship:
    - OpenAI researchers have cited or contributed to military-aligned AI safety frameworks.
    - Several safety protocols mirror DARPA/IC AI control models.
    - No direct funding confirmed, but defense-aligned advisors cross-pollinate.

- Organization: Microsoft
  Nature of Relationship:
    - Primary investor ($13+ billion)
    - Microsoft has major DoD and NSA cloud hosting contracts (Azure Government Cloud)
    - Collaboration enables joint AI infrastructure that may intersect with government use cases

- Organization: Palantir
  Nature of Relationship:
    - No formal public partnership with OpenAI, but:
    - Palantir has expressed interest in LLMs, and many LLM red team consultants cycle between firms
    - Potential convergence in surveillance-oriented AI

- Organization: CIA / In-Q-Tel
  Nature of Relationship:
    - Several advisors and consultants (e.g., Darby) have direct ties to In-Q-Tel
    - OpenAI research cited by government-affiliated defense think tanks (CSET, RAND)

- Organization: RAND Corporation
  Nature of Relationship:
    - RAND AI policy teams engage with OpenAI on safety/alignment studies
    - Former White House & IC officials now serve as cross-pollinators in advisory roles

- Organization: Georgetown University (CSET)
  Nature of Relationship:
    - Former board member Helen Toner from CSET
    - CSET is funded in part by DoD and In-Q-Tel
    - Acts as a policy liaison hub for defense-AI integration

- Organization: Stanford University (HAI – Human-Centered AI)
  Nature of Relationship:
    - OpenAI researchers often collaborate on publications
    - Shared alignment/safety agenda
    - Strong ties to tech policy shaping

- Organization: MIT
  Nature of Relationship:
    - Publications and shared authorship on AI control, ethics, and safety
    - MIT Media Lab members involved in OpenAI's broader ethics circles

- Organization: Anthropic, DeepMind, Open Research Groups
  Nature of Relationship:
    - Shared safety alignment working groups
    - Frequent joint authorship on transformer models and safety papers

- Organization: U.S. Department of Commerce / NIST
  Nature of Relationship:
    - OpenAI participates in AI policy guidance and export control compliance
    - Engagement in AI standards and regulation shaping

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## 🛡️ Speculated or Soft Ties (Not Confirmed but Plausible)

- NSA (cloud hosting policy enforcement through Microsoft Azure + consultant flow)
- Five Eyes Signals Intelligence (AI ethics cooperation)
- WEF (World Economic Forum): Sam Altman has participated in WEF sessions
- Aspen Institute / CFR (Council on Foreign Relations): Policy alignment events, especially regarding “AI governance”
- World Bank / IMF: AI for global development strategy mentions OpenAI-based LLMs
- WHO/UNESCO: AI ethics, language model use in global health and education frameworks