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OpenAI whistleblowers call on US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate restrictive non-disclosure agreements | Tech News

The AI ​​company had its employees sign agreements waiving their federal rights to whistleblower compensation, according to the letter, which was seen by The Washington Post.

OpenAI, ChatGPT, AI
Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg

Reuters

OpenAI whistleblowers have filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), demanding an investigation into the AI ​​company’s allegedly restrictive nondisclosure agreements, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing a copy of a letter sent to the SEC.

The whistleblowers alleged that OpenAI imposed overly restrictive employment, severance and confidentiality agreements on its employees, which could have resulted in penalties for employees who raised concerns about OpenAI with federal agencies, the newspaper said.

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The AI ​​company forced its employees to sign agreements waiving their federal rights to whistleblower compensation, according to the letter, which was seen by The Washington Post.

The agreements also required employees to obtain the company’s prior consent before disclosing information to U.S. regulators, the newspaper said. OpenAI did not create any exceptions in its employee non-disparagement clauses for disclosing securities violations to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A spokesperson for the SEC said in an emailed statement that they would not comment on the existence or non-existence of a possible whistleblower report.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Washington Post report.

OpenAI’s chatbots with generative AI features, such as participating in human-like conversations and creating images based on text prompts, have raised security concerns as AI models become more powerful.

OpenAI created a safety committee in May, led by board members including CEO Sam Altman, as the company begins training its next artificial intelligence model.