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Current And Former OpenAI Employees Warn Of AI Risks
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/usa/us-employment-news/current-and-former-openai-employees-warn-of-ai-risks
By Nithya Bose in Business News, posted June 5, 2024
A group of current and former OpenAI employees published an open letter, citing serious risks and a lack of oversight of artificial intelligence.
They noted the absence of whistleblower protections for those wishing to raise alarms.
The letter read: “AI companies have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight, and we do not believe bespoke structures of corporate governance are sufficient to change this.”
Companies like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and others are leading the race in generative AI.
The AI market is projected to exceed $1 trillion in revenue within a decade.
They wrote: “We also understand the serious risks posed by these technologies.
They added the companies “currently have only weak obligations to share some of this information with governments, and none with civil society.
“We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily.”
They criticized the companies for having only weak obligations to share this information with governments and none with civil society.
The letter stressed the need for better whistleblower protections, arguing that employees are uniquely positioned to hold AI companies accountable.
“AI companies have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight, and we do not believe bespoke structures of corporate governance are sufficient to change this”
Current confidentiality agreements prevent employees from voicing concerns outside their companies.
Ordinary whistleblower protections are inadequate as they focus on illegal activities, not the unregulated risks present in AI development.
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The signatories called on AI companies to commit to not enforcing non-disparagement agreements.
They also want to establish anonymous reporting processes for employees to voice concerns to boards and regulators.
The letter also calls for companies to acknowledge open criticism, and refrain from retaliating against public whistleblowing if internal processes fail.
Four anonymous OpenAI employees and seven former ones were among the signatories.
Other notable signatories included Ramana Kumar and Neel Nanda from Google DeepMind and prominent AI scientists Geoffrey Hinton, Yoshua Bengio, and Stuart Russell.
An OpenAI spokesperson said: “We agree that rigorous debate is crucial given the significance of this technology and we’ll continue to engage with governments, civil society and other communities around the world.”
This open letter follows mounting controversy for OpenAI.
Recent incidents include a backtrack on a non-disparagement agreement decision.
The firm has also disbanded a team focusing AI's long-term risks.
OpenAI has faced internal disagreements on prioritizing safety and security in AI development.
Key departures and leadership changes have added to the turmoil.
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