OpenAI’s Sam Altman becomes the latest technology executive involved in San Francisco government

The technology industry, concentrated in Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, has increasingly moved into the city itself (File) | Photo credit: AP

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has joined a growing list of former technology leaders to play a role in San Francisco’s government after this month’s elections.

San Francisco Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie has named Altman, the head of the artificial intelligence company behind ChatGPT, as one of seven co-chairs of his transition team, the campaign announced Monday.

The tech industry, concentrated in Silicon Valley, south of San Francisco, has increasingly moved into the city itself, creating tensions in a place once synonymous with hippies and counterculture.

At the same time, San Francisco’s sluggish post-pandemic economic recovery and visible struggles against drugs and homelessness have fueled a shift toward centrist Democratic politics, driven by both disaffected citizens and wealthy tech executive donors.

Some Silicon Valley investors have backed Republican President-elect Donald Trump. In San Francisco’s election, WhatsApp co-founder and former CEO Jan Koum endorsed Lurie. Two former software entrepreneurs, Bilal Mahmood and Danny Sauter, were elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors.

Lurie, a philanthropist and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, will succeed London Breed, the city’s first Black female mayor, who has led the city since 2018.

When he takes office on Jan. 8, Lurie, who has no experience at City Hall, will take on the challenge of solving San Francisco’s public safety crisis, a pressing issue that has prompted scores of tech leaders to move from the Bay Area. Other tech executives seized the opportunity to focus their industry’s skills on San Francisco’s problems. “I’m excited to help the city I love, and where OpenAI started,” Altman said in a statement.

In an interview with Reuters, Mahmood said former business leaders are experts in priority setting and metrics-based governance, which can help the city “get back to basics.”

“Democrats are too focused on ideological battles rather than quality of life issues,” he said.

Mahmood added that many of San Francisco’s problems stem from its inefficient tech infrastructure, which leads to delays in hiring and housing approvals, areas where tech executives are well positioned to contribute.