Last Updated on March 23, 2026 by Daily News Staff

Alnoor Ebrahim, Tufts University

OpenAI, the artificial intelligence company that developed the popular ChatGPT chatbot and the text-to-art program Dall-E, is at a crossroads. On Oct. 2, 2024, it announced that it had obtained US$6.6 billion in new funding from investors and that the business was worth an estimated $157 billion – making it only the second startup ever to be valued at over $100 billion.

Unlike other big tech companies, OpenAI is a nonprofit with a for-profit subsidiary that is overseen by a nonprofit board of directors. Since its founding in 2015, OpenAI’s official mission has been “to build artificial general intelligence (AGI) that is safe and benefits all of humanity.”

By late September 2024, The Associated Press, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and many other media outlets were reporting that OpenAI plans to discard its nonprofit status and become a for-profit tech company managed by investors. These stories have all cited anonymous sources. The New York Times, referencing documents from the recent funding round, reported that unless this change happens within two years, the $6.6 billion in equity would become debt owed to the investors who provided that funding.

The Conversation U.S. asked Alnoor Ebrahim, a Tufts University management scholar, to explain why OpenAI’s leaders’ reported plans to change its structure would be significant and potentially problematic.

How have its top executives and board members responded?

There has been a lot of leadership turmoil at OpenAI. The disagreements boiled over in November 2023, when its board briefly ousted Sam Altman, its CEO. He got his job back in less than a week, and then three board members resigned. The departing directors were advocates for building stronger guardrails and encouraging regulation to protect humanity from potential harms posed by AI.

Over a dozen senior staff members have quit since then, including several other co-founders and executives responsible for overseeing OpenAI’s safety policies and practices. At least two of them have joined Anthropic, a rival founded by a former OpenAI executive responsible for AI safety. Some of the departing executives say that Altman has pushed the company to launch products prematurely.

Safety “has taken a backseat to shiny products,” said OpenAI’s former safety team leader Jan Leike, who quit in May 2024.

Why would OpenAI’s structure change?

OpenAI’s deep-pocketed investors cannot own shares in the organization under its existing nonprofit governance structure, nor can they get a seat on its board of directors. That’s because OpenAI is incorporated as a nonprofit whose purpose is to benefit society rather than private interests. Until now, all rounds of investments, including a reported total of $13 billion from Microsoft, have been channeled through a for-profit subsidiary that belongs to the nonprofit.

The current structure allows OpenAI to accept money from private investors in exchange for a future portion of its profits. But those investors do not get a voting seat on the board, and their profits are “capped.” According to information previously made public, OpenAI’s original investors can’t earn more than 100 times the money they provided. The goal of this hybrid governance model is to balance profits with OpenAI’s safety-focused mission.

Becoming a for-profit enterprise would make it possible for its investors to acquire ownership stakes in OpenAI and no longer have to face a cap on their potential profits. Down the road, OpenAI could also go public and raise capital on the stock market.

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Altman reportedly seeks to personally acquire a 7% equity stake in OpenAI, according to a Bloomberg article that cited unnamed sources.

That arrangement is not allowed for nonprofit executives, according to BoardSource, an association of nonprofit board members and executives. Instead, the association explains, nonprofits “must reinvest surpluses back into the organization and its tax-exempt purpose.”

What kind of company might OpenAI become?

The Washington Post and other media outlets have reported, also citing unnamed sources, that OpenAI might become a “public benefit corporation” – a business that aims to benefit society and earn profits.

Examples of businesses with this status, known as B Corps., include outdoor clothing and gear company Patagonia and eyewear maker Warby Parker.

It’s more typical that a for-profit business – not a nonprofit – becomes a benefit corporation, according to the B Lab, a network that sets standards and offers certification for B Corps. It is unusual for a nonprofit to do this because nonprofit governance already requires those groups to benefit society.

Boards of companies with this legal status are free to consider the interests of society, the environment and people who aren’t its shareholders, but that is not required. The board may still choose to make profits a top priority and can drop its benefit status to satisfy its investors. That is what online craft marketplace Etsy did in 2017, two years after becoming a publicly traded company.

In my view, any attempt to convert a nonprofit into a public benefit corporation is a clear move away from focusing on the nonprofit’s mission. And there will be a risk that becoming a benefit corporation would just be a ploy to mask a shift toward focusing on revenue growth and investors’ profits.

Many legal scholars and other experts are predicting that OpenAI will not do away with its hybrid ownership model entirely because of legal restrictions on the placement of nonprofit assets in private hands.

But I think OpenAI has a possible workaround: It could try to dilute the nonprofit’s control by making it a minority shareholder in a new for-profit structure. This would effectively eliminate the nonprofit board’s power to hold the company accountable. Such a move could lead to an investigation by the office of the relevant state attorney general and potentially by the Internal Revenue Service.

What could happen if OpenAI turns into a for-profit company?

The stakes for society are high.

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AI’s potential harms are wide-ranging, and some are already apparent, such as deceptive political campaigns and bias in health care.

If OpenAI, an industry leader, begins to focus more on earning profits than ensuring AI’s safety, I believe that these dangers could get worse. Geoffrey Hinton, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics for his artificial intelligence research, has cautioned that AI may exacerbate inequality by replacing “lots of mundane jobs.” He believes that there’s a 50% probability “that we’ll have to confront the problem of AI trying to take over” from humanity.

And even if OpenAI did retain board members for whom safety is a top concern, the only common denominator for the members of its new corporate board would be their obligation to protect the interests of the company’s shareholders, who would expect to earn a profit. While such expectations are common on a for-profit board, they constitute a conflict of interest on a nonprofit board where mission must come first and board members cannot benefit financially from the organization’s work.

The arrangement would, no doubt, please OpenAI’s investors. But would it be good for society? The purpose of nonprofit control over a for-profit subsidiary is to ensure that profit does not interfere with the nonprofit’s mission. Without guardrails to ensure that the board seeks to limit harm to humanity from AI, there would be little reason for it to prevent the company from maximizing profit, even if its chatbots and other AI products endanger society.

Regardless of what OpenAI does, most artificial intelligence companies are already for-profit businesses. So, in my view, the only way to manage the potential harms is through better industry standards and regulations that are starting to take shape.

California’s governor vetoed such a bill in September 2024 on the grounds it would slow innovation – but I believe slowing it down is exactly what is needed, given the dangers AI already poses to society.

Alnoor Ebrahim, Thomas Schmidheiny Professor of International Business, The Fletcher School & Tisch College of Civic Life, Tufts University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/

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Last Updated on March 21, 2026 by Daily News Staff

Woman feeling headache holding a glass of water.Adobe Stock

Why do people get headaches and migraines? A child neurologist explains the science of head pain and how to treat it

Katherine Cobb-Pitstick, University of Pittsburgh

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com.

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Why do people get headaches? – Evie V., age 10, Corpus Christi, Texas

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Whether sharp and stabbing or dull and throbbing, a headache can ruin your day. But your brain doesn’t actually feel pain. So what is going on when it feels like your head is in a vise or about to explode?

I am a child neurologist – that is, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the brain in kids. Most of my patients are kids and adolescents who are struggling with headaches.

Head pain is complicated, and there is still a lot to learn about what causes it and how it can be treated. But researchers know there are a few key players that take part in generating pain.

What are headaches?

Nerves communicate information like pain through electrical signals between the body and the brain.

While the brain itself doesn’t have any nerve sensors to feel pain, blood vessels in the head and structures that protect and surround the brain do sense pain. When these tissues detect injury or damage, they release chemicals that trigger transmission of electrical signals through nerves to tell the brain the head is hurting.

The brain will also use nerves to signal the body to respond to pain with symptoms like feeling tired, teary eyes, runny nose, upset stomach and discomfort in bright or loud environments. It’s not clear why humans evolved to feel these symptoms, but some scientists theorize that this can lead to healthier lifestyle choices to decrease the chance of future headache attacks.

What causes headaches?

Often, headaches are a sign that the body is under some kind of stress. That stress triggers chemical and physical changes to the nerves and blood vessels around your brain, head and neck that can cause headaches.

Many types of stresses can cause headaches, including an infection, allergies, hormone changes during puberty and menstrual cycles, not getting enough sleep, not drinking enough water, skipping meals or drinking too much caffeine or alcohol. Sometimes, headaches happen with emotional stress, like feeling anxious or depressed. Even pressure in your sinuses due to changes in the weather can cause your head to hurt.

One in 11 kids have had a type of severe headache called a migraine. They feel like a pulsing and pounding pain in your head and come with other symptoms, including nausea or being sensitive to lights and sounds. During a migraine, it can be hard to do everyday activities because they can make the pain worse. It is also very common to feel unwell or irritable before the head pain starts and after the pain is gone.

Migraines occur when the nerves and other structures used in signaling and interpreting pain aren’t working properly, leading to pain and discomfort from stimulation that wouldn’t normally provoke this. There are many environmental and genetic factors that contribute to this dysfunction. Some people are born with a higher risk of developing migraines. Most people with migraines have someone in their family who also experiences them.

What can treat and prevent headaches?

Identifying what type of headache you’re experiencing is crucial to making sure it is treated properly. Because migraines can be severe, they’re the type of headache that most often leads to doctor’s visits for both kids and adults.

There are several ways to reduce your chances of having headaches, such as drinking plenty of water and limiting caffeine. Eating, sleeping and exercising regularly are other ways you can help prevent headaches.

While painkillers like ibuprofen are often enough to relieve a headache, prescription medications are sometimes necessary to make head pain more bearable. Some medications can also help control or prevent headache episodes. Physical therapy to exercise the body or behavioral therapy to work on the mind can also help you manage headache pain. There are even electronic devices to treat headaches by stimulating different parts of the nervous system.

It is important to talk with a doctor about headaches, especially if it’s a new problem or you experience a change in how they usually feel. Sometimes, brain imaging or blood tests are needed to rule out another health issue.

Recognizing a headache problem early will help your doctor get started on helping you figure out the best way to treat it.

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Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

And since curiosity has no age limit – adults, let us know what you’re wondering, too. We won’t be able to answer every question, but we will do our best.

Katherine Cobb-Pitstick, Assistant Professor of Child Neurology, University of Pittsburgh

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

📜 Who Created Blogging? A Look Back at the Birth of the Blog

Link: https://stmdailynews.com/%f0%9f%93%9c-who-created-blogging-a-look-back-at-the-birth-of-the-blog/

Unlikely Collaborators is bringing astrophysicist Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger to Santa Monica for a conversation centered on one of science’s most enduring questions: Are we alone in the universe? The event, part of the organization’s Spark Salon series, took place on March 17 at 7:00 p.m. PT and was offered both in person and via livestream.

Kaltenegger, founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute at Cornell University and a professor of astronomy, is widely recognized for her work on habitable exoplanets and the search for detectable signs of life beyond Earth. Her talk focused not only on the science of planet hunting, but also on the assumptions people bring to questions about life, habitability, and reality itself.

According to the event announcement, the discussion examined how scientists interpret data from distant worlds and asked broader questions about what counts as life, what makes a planet habitable, and how human perspective can shape discovery. The program also highlighted how the search for life beyond Earth can challenge long-held ideas about what is normal, possible, and even alive.

The evening included a reception, the main program, and a book signing. In-person guests also received a complimentary copy of Kaltenegger’s book, Alien Earths: The New Science for Planet Hunting in the Cosmos.

Unlikely Collaborators, founded by Elizabeth R. Koch, describes itself as a nonprofit focused on helping people better understand themselves and the world through its Perception Box framework. The Spark Salon series regularly brings together researchers, artists, and thought leaders for conversations designed to challenge perspective and encourage reflection.

Related Links

• Unlikely Collaborators official website
• Event details: Are We Alone in the Universe?
• Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger’s book: Alien Earths: The New Science for Planet Hunting in the Cosmos
• Cornell profile: Dr. Lisa Kaltenegger

Source

• Source: Unlikely Collaborators via PR Newswire

Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter.  https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/