OpenAI illegally barred staff from airing safety risks, whistleblowers say
Submitted 8 months ago by bot@lemmy.smeargle.fans [bot] to hackernews@lemmy.smeargle.fans
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/07/13/openai-safety-risks-whistleblower-sec/
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 8 months ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
OpenAI whistleblowers have filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission alleging the artificial intelligence company illegally prohibited its employees from warning regulators about the grave risks its technology may pose to humanity, calling for an investigation.
These overly broad agreements violated long-standing federal laws and regulations meant to protect whistleblowers who wish to reveal damning information about their company anonymously and without fear of retaliation, the letter said.
During the #MeToo movement and national protests in response to the murder of George Floyd, workers warned that such legal agreements limited their ability to report sexual misconduct or racial discrimination.
“OpenAI’s policies and practices appear to cast a chilling effect on whistleblowers’ right to speak up and receive due compensation for their protected disclosures,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) in a statement to The Post.
The SEC should require OpenAI to produce every employment, severance and investor agreement that contains nondisclosure clauses to ensure they don’t violate federal laws, the letter said.
He won a $27 million settlement for Google employees in December against claims that the tech giant used onerous confidentiality agreements to block whistleblowing and other protected activity.
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