MIT
UC Berkeley
Jacob HiltonResearcher
Alignment Research Center
VP of Research
via Alignment Research Center
Researcher · Founder · Policy
Paul Christiano
Executive Director at Alignment Research Center
Board Member; Safety and Security Committee Member at OpenAI FoundationSenior Technical Advisor at Center for AI Standards and Innovation
Christiano was a principal architect of reinforcement learning from human feedback, which trains models using human preferences and became central to modern AI assistants. He also developed influential ideas for scalable oversight and third-party testing of frontier-model risks.
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Background
Current roles
Executive Director Jul 2026-presentAlignment Research Center
Alignment Research CenterBoard Member; Safety and Security Committee Member Sep 2026-presentOpenAI Foundation
OpenAI FoundationSenior Technical Advisor Sep 2025-presentCenter for AI Standards and Innovation
Previously
Apr 2024-Sep 2025Head of Safety, Center for AI Standards and Innovation
2021-2024Founder, Executive Director, Alignment Research Center
Alignment Research Center2017-2021Member of Technical Staff, 
OpenAI
OpenAIEducation
About this data
Work and education history is primarily focused on AI-relevant roles and may not be comprehensive.
Last editorial review: September 12, 2026News 2
updatePaul Christiano joins the OpenAI Foundation Board
The AI alignment researcher will also serve on the Foundation's Safety and Security Committee and observe the OpenAI Group PBC board.
September 9, 2026movePaul Christiano returns to lead the Alignment Research CenterChristiano has returned to ARC as executive director, making its research agenda his main focus while continuing limited government advisory work.
August 4, 2026Citation Trend
2 snapshots53,374citations as of Jun 15, '26+18,404 since Aug 25, '25
For today’s citation count and citations per paper, visit Google Scholar.
