Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former chief technology officer, testified under oath that CEO Sam Altman lied to her about the safety review requirements for a new AI model. The testimony came via video deposition shown on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, during the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial.
Murati said Altman falsely told her that OpenAI’s legal department had determined a new AI model did not need to go through the company’s deployment safety board. When asked directly whether Altman was telling the truth, Murati answered: “No.” She subsequently verified the matter with Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s general counsel at the time, and found his account contradicted Altman’s. “I confirmed that what Jason was saying and what Sam was saying were not the same thing,” she said. Out of caution, she ensured the model went through the board regardless.
Beyond the safety dispute, Murati described broader management difficulties under Altman. “I had an incredibly hard job to do in an organization that was very complex,” she said. “I was asking Sam to lead, and lead with clarity, and not undermine my ability to do my job.” She also agreed with characterizations of Altman as pitting executives against one another.
Her testimony adds to a pattern of similar accusations. OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, in a 52-page memo to the board, wrote that Altman “exhibits a consistent pattern of lying, undermining his execs, and pitting his execs against one another.” Former board member Helen Toner has also stated that executives presented evidence to the board of Altman “lying and being manipulative in different situations.” When OpenAI’s board fired Altman in November 2023, it cited that he “was not consistently candid in his communications with the board.”
Murati was briefly named interim CEO following Altman’s firing, though she criticized the board’s decision and warned that “OpenAI was at catastrophic risk of falling apart.” She departed the company in 2024 and has since founded her own AI company, Thinking Machines Lab.
Source: The Verge