After Noam Shazeer, OpenAI hires former Trump AI advisor Dean Ball to lead AI policy

AI scholar Dean Ball, who played a big role in forming early AI policy for the Trump administration, is joining OpenAI. Ball marks the latest big-name signing for OpenAI after Noam Shazeer, whom Google had paid over $2 billion to bring back.

In Short

• Former Trump AI advisor Dean Ball joins OpenAI
• Dean to work on drafting AI policy for OpenAI
• This comes after OpenAI poached Noam Shazeer from Google

OpenAI has had a busy week. The Sam Altman-led AI startup recently poached star AI engineer Noam Shazeer from Google who had previously been paid over $2 billion to work for the tech giant. And now, OpenAI is bringing AI scholar Dean Ball. Dean played a crucial role in shaping early AI policy for the Trump administration, and will lead the company’s AI policy measures.

On X, Dean Ball announced his move to OpenAI. The AI scholar wrote that he will be leading a new division at the company. Dean stated, “On July 6, I'll be joining OpenAI as leader of a new team called Strategic Futures.”

The AI scholar revealed that his team will be responsible for forming AI policy for OpenAI. Dean added, “Our mandate will be to help the company's leadership shape frontier AI policy. There is a ton of work to do, and I'm excited to get started.”

OpenAI now has a former Trump AI advisor

Dean Ball’s move brings to OpenAI a policy official with experience in Washington and a public profile as a frequent writer on AI policy. Ball has also been a vocal critic of both the AI industry and the government. He told Axios that the role was an opportunity to help shape “a new kind of institution under the sun.” OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon said Ball had spent significant time thinking about risk, governance, frontier policy issues and “what comes next.”

This comes at a time when the company’s major rival Anthropic is having a troubling time with the White House. The US government recently banned Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and Fable 5 models for all foreigners, including the company’s own employees. Anthropic has since blocked access for all users.

That is, at a time when Anthropic is seemingly struggling with managing relations with the US government, OpenAI now has a key figure who worked closely with the White House. Dean is expected to report to Jason Kwon.

In a blog post, Dean Ball wrote that the first phase of AI governance, from about November 2022 until late 2025 or early 2026, had been “easy mode.” Now, he reckoned, a more difficult phase had now begun, with more politics and higher stakes.

Who is Dean Ball?

Dean Ball served as senior policy adviser for AI and Emerging Technology at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and was the primary author of the AI Action Plan released by the White House last summer.

He left the administration soon after the document was published and joined the Foundation for American Innovation, a right-leaning technology think tank, as a senior fellow.

While Dean has remained in contact with the White House, he has also emerged as a critic of the Trump administration’s feud with Anthropic in recent months. This includes the Pentagon’s decision to label the company a supply chain risk and the White House’s decision last week to impose export restrictions on Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable models.

Before joining the White House, Ball worked as a researcher at George Mason University’s Mercatus Center and as a programme manager at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. He has also held positions at the Manhattan Institute and oversaw a scholarship programme at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation.

- Ends