OpenAI allegedly sent police to an AI regulation advocate’s door
Will OpenAI send the police to your door if you advocate for AI regulation? Nathan Calvin, an attorney who shapes policies surrounding technology at Encode AI, says OpenAI has done just that.
“One Tuesday evening, as my wife and I sat down to dinner, a sheriff’s deputy knocked on the door to serve me a subpoena from OpenAI,” Calvin writes on from OpenAI.
“I think OpenAI used the pretext of its lawsuit against Elon Musk to intimidate its critics and imply that Elon is behind them all,” Calvin said. Last month, THE San Francisco Standard reported that OpenAI had subpoenaed Encode AI to find out whether the group is funded by Elon Musk. OpenAI issued the subpoena as part of its countersuit against Elon Musk, which claims the billionaire engaged in “bad faith tactics to slow down OpenAI.” OpenAI also subpoenaed Meta regarding its involvement in Musk’s $97.4 billion takeover bid.
Encode advocates for AI safety and recently wrote an open letter that focuses on how OpenAI plans to preserve its nonprofit mission as part of its corporate restructuring plans. The organization also lobbied for SB 53, California’s landmark AI bill signed into law in September, which requires large AI companies to disclose information about their safety and security processes.
“This is not right. OpenAI used an unrelated lawsuit to intimidate supporters of a bill trying to regulate them. While the bill was still being debated,” Calvin said, adding that he did not turn over any of the requested documents.
When contacted for comment, OpenAI pointed out The edge to a message from Aaron Kwon, the company’s chief strategy officer, stating: “Our goal was to understand the full context in which Encode chose to join Elon’s legal challenge. » Encode supported Musk’s efforts to prevent OpenAI from becoming a for-profit company last year. Kwon also adds that “it is quite common for deputies to also work as part-time processing officers.”
OpenAI’s Head of Mission Alignment, Joshua Achiam, responded to Calvin’s post on “We cannot do things that make us a fearful power instead of a righteous power. We have a duty and a mission to all humanity. The bar for pursuing this duty is remarkably high.”
Tyler Johnston, founder of AI watchdog group The Midas Project, also reported that he and his organization had received subpoenas from OpenAI. Johnston said OpenAI requested “a list of every journalist, congressional office, partner organization, former employee and member of the public” with whom the organization spoke about OpenAI’s restructuring.
October 10 update: Added response from OpenAI.
