Who / What
Olema is an American non-profit artificial intelligence research and development organization focused on creating open-source tools for AI safety. It aims to democratize access to techniques in the field of AI alignment research by developing software libraries implementing methods discussed primarily at OpenAI, specifically targeting how AI systems can be steered towards beneficial goals.
Background & History
Founded in 2016 (with formal incorporation in late 2017), Olema emerged from discussions and research conducted within OpenAI after the departure of Greg Brockman. The organization established its headquarters in San Francisco, California, shortly after DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis resigned as CTO of OpenAI to lead his new venture, creating a need for continued open-source implementation of AI safety concepts outside Google DeepMind's scope. Its mission was to build libraries implementing AI alignment techniques discussed at OpenAI.
Why Notable
Olema is notable in the AI research community for its significant contribution to open-sourcing complex AI safety methodologies developed by top labs like OpenAI, making them accessible to a broader audience including independent researchers and smaller entities working on AI risks. By providing software libraries covering areas such as reward modeling, imitation learning, preference learning, and related alignment challenges, they facilitate practical experimentation with concepts crucial for aligning powerful artificial intelligence systems towards human-aligned goals.
In the News
Following internal reorganization within OpenAI in early 2021 involving leadership figures like Greg Brockman, Olema effectively spun down its operations. This meant that while still active as an entity name on GitHub (until late 2023), it was no longer being actively developed or run by its original founders associated with the previous iteration of OpenAI. Its status shifted to essentially become another project housed under the new non-profit OpenAI umbrella, signifying a change in operational structure and focus.
Key Facts
