OpenAI Considered 'Insane' Plan to Pit World Leaders Against Each Other

Former employees say the company explored using AI as leverage in a global bidding war.

Apr. 7, 2026 at 12:51am

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A highly detailed, glowing 3D illustration of a complex network of interconnected circuits, wires, and data streams in shades of neon cyan and magenta, conceptually representing the powerful and potentially dangerous infrastructure of AI technology.The revelation of OpenAI's controversial 'countries plan' highlights the ethical minefield of AI development and the need for greater transparency and oversight.NYC Today

According to a new report in The New Yorker, OpenAI executives reportedly discussed a plan to pit world leaders against each other by positioning the company's AI technology as a kind of nuclear weapon that nations would have to compete to invest in. While OpenAI denies the characterization, former policy advisers say the idea was real and popular among executives before being abandoned after some employees threatened to quit.

Why it matters

This revelation raises serious ethical concerns about OpenAI's approach to AI development and its potential misuse of powerful technology for profit and geopolitical gain. It also further damages the reputation of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who has long positioned himself as a champion of responsible AI.

The details

The New Yorker article cites former OpenAI policy adviser Page Hedley, who said the idea came from OpenAI president Greg Brockman. After Hedley presented ways to avoid a global AI arms race, Brockman reportedly proposed the opposite - that OpenAI could 'enrich itself by playing world powers against one another' through a bidding war for access to its AI. Another former OpenAI employee, Jack Clark, described it as a 'prisoner's dilemma' where nations would have to fund OpenAI to avoid being left behind.

  • The plan was discussed in meetings at OpenAI in the past.

The players

Sam Altman

The CEO of OpenAI who has positioned himself as a champion of responsible AI development, but whose reputation has been damaged by this revelation and other controversies.

Greg Brockman

The president of OpenAI who reportedly proposed the idea of using the company's AI technology to pit world leaders against each other in a bidding war.

Page Hedley

A former OpenAI policy adviser who says the 'countries plan' was real and popular among executives before being abandoned.

Jack Clark

The former policy director at OpenAI who described the plan as a 'prisoner's dilemma' where nations would have to fund OpenAI to avoid being left behind.

The New Yorker

The publication that conducted an extensive investigation and published a 16,000-word feature on the controversies surrounding OpenAI and Sam Altman.

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What they’re saying

“This is completely fucking insane.”

— A junior OpenAI researcher

“OpenAI could enrich itself by playing world powers—including China and Russia—against one another, perhaps by starting a bidding war among them.”

— Greg Brockman, President, OpenAI

“A prisoner's dilemma, where all of the nations need to give us funding, which implicitly makes not giving us funding kind of dangerous.”

— Jack Clark, Head of Policy, Anthropic

What’s next

OpenAI has denied the characterization of the plan, calling it 'ridiculous,' but the revelations have further damaged the company's reputation and CEO Sam Altman's standing as a responsible AI leader. It remains to be seen how this will impact OpenAI's future partnerships and funding.

The takeaway

This incident highlights the ethical minefield that AI companies like OpenAI must navigate, and the potential for powerful technologies to be misused for profit and geopolitical gain. It underscores the need for greater transparency, oversight, and a genuine commitment to the responsible development of transformative AI systems.