# OpenAI Began as a Valuable Tool by David Robinson > “When I joined OpenAI, I thought artificial intelligence was going to be a useful and powerful tool because it would continue to improve. I did not think the people worried about catastrophic scenarios were right. I thought brilliant scientists had built a valuable tool and had some naive beliefs about where the future might go.” > **— David Robinson**, *The Ezra Klein Show, October 7, 2026* ## Sources and Context - **Official episode:** [“This Is Nuts.” An OpenAI Insider Explains Why He Quit](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-is-nuts-an-openai-insider-explains-why-he-quit/id1548604447?i=1000793623910) — publisher-hosted episode identifying Robinson as Klein's guest and preserving the complete conversation. - **Publisher transcript:** [David Robinson on OpenAI safety and why he quit](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/06/opinion/ezra-klein-podcast-david-robinson.html) — official *New York Times* episode page and transcript route. - **Timecoded source object:** [[research/David Robinson on OpenAI Safety, Superintelligence, and the Transhumanist Transition|David Robinson on OpenAI Safety, Superintelligence, and the Transhumanist Transition]], **9:21** — reconciled from the supplied complete YouTube auto-caption transcript and kept in broadcast order. - **Editorial treatment:** Verbal filler, stutters and transcript punctuation are normalized for reading; the quotation remains one contiguous source object and does not join different turns. - **Context:** In this portion of the conversation, Robinson addresses the operational evidence that moved the conversation from useful tools toward civilizational risk. The complete premise, mechanism and consequence are retained so the statement remains intelligible apart from the episode. ## Related Articles and Collections - **Collection:** [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - **Article:** [[articles/Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse|Safety Discourse Is Transition Discourse]] - **Article:** [[articles/We Cannot Un-Strike the Match|We Cannot Un-Strike the Match]] - **Article:** [[articles/The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public|The Immediate AI Risk Is the Public]] ## Related Topics - [[wiki/David Robinson|David Robinson]] - [[wiki/OpenAI|OpenAI]] - [[wiki/Risk Debate|Risk Debate]] ## Share on Social Media ``` “When I joined OpenAI, I thought artificial intelligence was going to be a useful and powerful tool because it would continue to improve. I did not think the people worried about catastrophic scenarios were right. I thought brilliant scientists had built a valuable tool and had some naive beliefs about where the future might go.” — David Robinson, The Ezra Klein Show, October 7, 2026 https://bryantmcgill.com/simple-reminders-david-robinson-openai-began-as-a-valuable-tool ```