Altman Joins San Francisco Mayor-elect's Transition Team

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Facts

  • On Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie's transition team. He will work with nine other leaders with an eye to guide Lurie's administration with innovation initiatives.[1]
  • Lurie, a Levi Strauss heir and philanthropist, will become San Francisco's next mayor on Jan. 8, replacing London Breed. As mayor, Lurie will confront the city's post-pandemic economic recovery as well as drug and homelessness issues.[2]
  • The city's perceived public safety issues have also driven some tech facilities out of the Bay Area, including Elon Musk's X headquarters.[3][4]
  • Lurie's team also includes Mission Asset Fund Chief Executive Officer José Quiñonez and former San Fransisco Fire Department Chief Joanne Hayes-White as co-chairs.[5][6]
  • In addition to his leadership at OpenAI, Altman chairs energy firms Helion and Oklo and was previously president of Y Combinator, a startup accelerator.[6]
  • Two other former software entrepreneurs, Bilal Mahmood and Danny Sauter, were also chosen to serve on the city's board of supervisors.[2]

Sources: [1]Business Today, [2]Reuters, [3]The Business Standard, [4]TechCrunch, [5]Washington Examiner and [6]CBS.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by CBS. San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie is serious about shaking up the status quo. In order to achieve this, he has assembled a transition team consisting of prominent tech leaders and individuals with vast experience in managing the city. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, along with the other co-chairs, will help build the basis for the change that San Franciscans demand — leveraging his accomplishments in the rising AI industry.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Sfchronicle and Atlantic. Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie will be the first San Francisco mayor in more than a century to have no prior government experience, and he, like Donald Trump in 2016, is a political newcomer with very deep pockets. And, just as Trump has received backing from Silicon Valley tech moguls, so has moderate Democrat Lurie. Altman's foray into politics should be viewed as a concerning continuation of the growing influence of the tech industry on US politics.