SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 -- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced yesterday that the company behind ChatGPT will continue to be run as a nonprofit, abandoning a contested plan to convert into a for-profit organisation.

The structural issue had become a significant point of contention for the artificial intelligence (AI) pioneer, with major investors pushing for the change to better secure their returns.

AI safety advocates had expressed concerns about pursuing substantial profits from such powerful technology without the oversight of a nonprofit board of directors acting in society's interest rather than for shareholder profits.

"OpenAI is not a normal company and never will be," Altman wrote in an email to staff posted on the company's website....