Sam Altman on Scientific Research

Statements and actions by Sam Altman on this topic.

Public disputes concerning scientific research, research methods, authorship, credit, collaboration, publication, and research conduct.

How we classify topics

Condemned0No statements. Not selected. Activate to add.Defended or excused1Statements: September 8, 2026. Not selected. Activate to add.Challenged the characterization0No statements. Not selected. Activate to add.Minimized0No statements. Not selected. Activate to add.Mixed or conditional0No statements. Not selected. Activate to add.Explicitly stayed out0No statements. Not selected. Activate to add.

Counts show individual statements. They do not assign an overall position.

By category Timeline

Statement history

1 statement on this page. Dates: September 8, 2026

1 matching statement. Dates: September 8, 2026

1 published statement. Dates: September 8, 2026

Sam Altman
Role at the time: OpenAI leader who says he spent the weekend speaking with the team
September 8, 2026Defended or excused
Responding to
OpenAI improperly pressured the researchers over authorship and publication of the mathematical results.
"acted with integrity and generosity throughout"
Why we used this label
Explicit interested defense of the company's intentions and actions.
Sam Altman defends the team and explains its proposed publication arrangements (opens in a new tab)

Altman says he spoke with the team over the weekend and defends its conduct. His role makes this an interested defense, not an independent witness to every call.

Our account of this statement has been corrected. 1 correction

Read statement Did OpenAI improperly pressure mathematicians over authorship and credit?