Whistleblowers at OpenAI have submitted a complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accusing the company of unlawfully preventing employees from alerting regulators to the significant risks its technology poses to humanity. The complaint highlights the restrictive employment, severance, and non-disclosure agreements that OpenAI required employees to sign, potentially penalizing those who voiced concerns to federal regulators. The letter sent to the SEC also claims that OpenAI's contracts violated federal laws safeguarding whistleblowers' rights and propagated a culture of avoiding scrutiny and dissent. OpenAI spokesperson Hannah Wong maintains that the company's whistleblower policy protects employees' rights, adding that changes have been made to the departure process to eliminate non-disparagement terms.

There are concerns that OpenAI prioritizes profits over safety, exemplified by the recent hasty release of its latest AI model, ChatGPT, despite employee misgivings about adherence to security testing protocols. The letter also highlights the wider issue of confidentiality agreements in the tech industry, which hinder reporting of misconduct. Policymakers stress the importance of whistleblowers in developing effective regulations for the rapidly advancing artificial intelligence sector.