OpenAI Advisory Board Urges Stronger Nonprofit Control of AI

An advisory commission convened by OpenAI released a report on July 17, 2025, recommending that the company remain under nonprofit control. The panel argues that artificial intelligence is too consequential to be governed by a corporation alone and should instead serve as a beacon for democratic possibility.

Led by Daniel Zingale and including labor organizer Dolores Huerta, the commission proposed a framework to democratize AI development by giving impacted communities input on technology construction and data usage. Key recommendations include providing significant resources to the nonprofit arm for AI literacy and algorithmic fairness, establishing a rapid response fund for health and the arts, and requiring a human leader to head the nonprofit.

These non-binding recommendations arrive as OpenAI, which has a for-profit valuation of $300 billion, plans to transition its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation. The company is currently facing legal scrutiny from the attorneys general of California and Delaware, as well as a lawsuit from founder Elon Musk. The commission intentionally avoided CEO Sam Altman during the drafting process to maintain independence, following Altman's brief ousting by the nonprofit board in November 2023.