A whistleblower letter obtained by The Washington Post accuses OpenAI of illegally restricting employees from communicating with authorities about the risks their technology may pose. The letter was reportedly sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) — the agency that oversees the trading of securities — urging the regulators to review OpenAI.
According to the letter, OpenAI allegedly used illegal non-disclosure agreements to, among other things, force employees to refrain from whistle-blowing incentives and it required them to state whether they had contact with authorities.
OpenAI has come under previous criticism for the restrictive design of its non-disclosure agreements, which it said it would modify. In a statement to The Washington Post, OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong said: “Our whistleblower policy protects employees’ rights to make protected disclosures.”