OpenAI and Google Current and Former Employees Warn of 'AI Risks'... "Protect Whistleblowers"

Thirteen current and former employees of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Google DeepMind issued a statement on the 4th (local time) expressing concerns about the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI).

In the statement, they said, "We are aware of the serious risks posed by AI technology."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

They stated, "The risks of (AI) range from exacerbating existing inequalities to manipulation and misinformation, and potentially the loss of control over autonomous AI systems that could lead to human extinction," adding, "Governments worldwide, other AI experts, and AI companies themselves have acknowledged this."

However, they pointed out that under the current legal framework, AI companies are unlikely to voluntarily share critical information about these risks, nor can companies solve the problems on their own. They said, "AI companies hold significant non-public information about various types of risks arising from the technology, but they have weak obligations to share some of this information with governments and no obligation to share it with civil society," adding, "We do not believe these technologies can be fully trusted."

They also stated, "AI companies, driven by profit motives, fail to provide proper oversight, and internal regulatory systems within companies alone cannot resolve the issues."

The statement noted that current and former employees feel responsible for these issues but find it difficult to speak out due to insufficient whistleblower protections in the AI industry. They called for the establishment of whistleblower protection measures. They argued, "We cannot express concerns due to company-wide and broad confidentiality agreements," adding, "General whistleblower protections focus on illegal activities and are therefore insufficient. Many of the risks we are concerned about are not yet regulated." They also emphasized, "Some of us fear various forms of retaliation when considering whistleblowing cases across the industry."

The statement included the names of seven current and former OpenAI employees each, and one current and former Google DeepMind employee each.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.