OpenAI whistleblowers are calling on the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether the ChatGPT maker violated SEC rules and prevented employees from speaking out.
Legally protected whistleblowers sent a letter to Gary Gensler, chair of the SEC, on July 1 calling on the regulator to investigate OpenAI. The letter, which was also sent to Sen. Chuck Grassley’s office, was later shared with Business Insider.
The letter states that the whistleblowers provided documents to the SEC supporting their claims that OpenAI’s NDAs “violated numerous precedents of the SEC.”
Sen. Grassley said in a statement shared with Business Insider that assessing the threats posed by AI fell under Congress’s constitutional responsibility to protect national security.
He added: “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. In order for the federal government to stay one step ahead of artificial intelligence, OpenAI’s nondisclosure agreements must change.”
OpenAI didn’t respond to a request for comment from BI. An SEC representative said: “The SEC does not comment on the existence or nonexistence of a possible whistleblower submission.”
The whistleblowers’ complaint comes after Vox reported in May that OpenAI could take back vested equity from departing employees if they did not sign non-disparagement agreements.
Sam Altman said on X shortly after the report was published that he “did not know this was happening.”
Nine former and current OpenAI employees signed an open letter in June calling on major AI firms to ensure greater transparency and better protections for whistleblowers.
William Saunders, a former OpenAI employee who quit earlier this year after losing confidence that the company could responsibly mitigate AI risks, previously told BI about what led to him signing the letter and speaking out.
He said an incident in which another former OpenAI employee, Leopold Aschenbrenner, was fired and the requirement that OpenAI staff sign NDAs led to the four principles set out in the June open letter.
