"AGI Safety Cannot Be Monopolized" — Parallel Strategy of Internal Integration and External Democratization
As observations spread that artificial intelligence is approaching human-level intelligence (AGI), the importance of "alignment" research — aligning AI goals with human values — is being highlighted once again.
OpenAI announced it will donate $7.5 million (approximately 10 billion Korean won) to "The Alignment Project" to support an independent research ecosystem not dependent on any specific company.
This donation originated from the recognition that AGI safety cannot be resolved through a single company's internal research alone. Despite currently possessing strong internal alignment research capabilities, OpenAI cited "hypothesis diversity" and "system resilience" as reasons for supporting external independent institutions. The judgment is that if technological pathways change in unpredictable ways, theoretical and conceptual research not tied to a specific company's roadmap can become a decisive alternative.
In particular, large AI companies tend to focus on scalable alignment methodologies closely linked to large-scale computational resources and model deployment. Independent researchers, on the other hand, can attempt long-term and exploratory approaches spanning diverse disciplines such as economics, game theory, cognitive science, and cryptography. OpenAI explained that this "blue sky" research is essential for safety design in the AGI era.
The Alignment Project, the supported entity, is a global fund led by the UK AI Safety Institute (UK AISI). It operates through a public-private partnership structure involving public, industry, and philanthropic sectors, and including OpenAI's donation, the total fund size has exceeded £27 million (approximately 45 billion Korean won). Administrative work is supported by Renaissance Philanthropy.
Selected research projects receive between £50,000 and £1 million each, with computing resources and expert networks also provided as needed. UK AISI, an agency under the UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), already has experience managing large-scale research funds and expert review systems, providing the foundation to deploy funds quickly and efficiently.
OpenAI is advancing alignment research along two axes: "internal integration" and "external democratization." Internally, it develops practical, scalable alignment methods utilizing frontier models and large-scale computational resources; externally, it supports theoretical and interdisciplinary research to expand new idea spaces. The vision is to pursue empirical verification through iterative model deployment alongside exploratory experimentation by the independent research community.
This donation is designed to expand funding into high-quality projects that have already completed review, rather than establishing new programs. The underlying purpose is to accelerate research speed and quickly produce substantive results by leveraging verified researcher networks.
The message is clear: AGI safety is not a monopolistic challenge for a single company. In a situation where the pace of technological development may exceed expectations, building an ecosystem with diverse perspectives and independent verification structures can function as a long-term safety mechanism.
AI alignment is expanding beyond a technical problem into the domain of governance and social consensus. OpenAI's decision shows that AGI safety strategies are evolving toward frontier labs and independent research communities building mutually complementary partnerships.
