On September 17, AXIOS reported that OpenAI announced on Monday that its CEO Sam Altman would be stepping down from the board's safety and security committee. The committee is now composed entirely of independent board members.

OpenAI stated that Zico Kolter would chair the committee. The committee will receive briefings on major models and, along with the full board, has the authority to delay the release of new models. OpenAI highlighted that the new committee reviewed the safety of the recent o1 "Strawberry" model, which was assessed as "medium risk" in the company's internal evaluation. OpenAI indicated that they are working to adopt the committee's recommendations to enhance transparency, collaborate with external groups, and unify their safety practices across a growing number of product teams.