A group of OpenAI whistleblowers filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission, arguing that the company prevented its staff from alerting regulators about the risks its artificial intelligence technology could pose to humanity.
According to a seven-page letter obtained by The Washington Post, Whistleblowers said the company gave its employees restrictive employment, severance and confidentiality agreements.
Under these agreements, if employees raised concerns about the company to federal regulators, they could face penalties.
OpenAI, creator of the popular AI tool ChatGPT, had its employees sign agreements that required them to waive their federal rights to whistleblower compensation, among other restrictions for employees seeking to work with regulators or federal agencies.
The whistleblowers claim in your letter that “given the risks associated with the advancement of AI, there is an urgent need to ensure that employees working on this technology understand that they can file complaints or address concerns with federal regulatory or law enforcement authorities.”
The Hill reached out to OpenAI for comment, but a spokesperson told the Post that its reporting policy protects employees’ rights to make disclosures.
“Furthermore, we believe rigorous debate about this technology is essential and have already made important changes to our exit process to remove non-derogatory terms,” said OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong.
One of the whistleblowers spoke to the Post and said he doesn’t think AI companies can build technology that is “safe and in the public interest if they protect themselves from scrutiny and dissent.”
As AI technology companies emerge and change, there are fears they will do so for the wrong reasons. A few days ago, Microsoft resigned its seat on the OpenAI board, saying its participation is no longer necessary as there are concerns about antitrust violations.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
