What Are OpenAI Files Alleging Wrongdoing by Sam Altman

OpenAI has been in the spotlight for building some of the world’s most popular AI tools. But now a major new report is flashing that spotlight inwards onto OpenAI’s leadership, its work culture, and governance. At the center of all this is? CEO Sam Altman. 

Named as OpenAI Files, this report was released for public viewing by two nonprofit tech watchdogs -  the Midas Project and the Tech Oversight Project. The findings of the report are based on more than a year of research and includes over 10,000 words of documentation and analysis. According to the site, this is the most detailed public collection so far of concerns about how OpenAI is operating behind the scenes.

The researcher behind the project, Tyler Johnston, has spent the past year gathering public information about OpenAI’s internal decision-making. These include employee testimonies, media reports, open letters and more. OpenAI is a highly interactive website that tracks the company’s journey from a nonprofit AI research lab to a massively funded, private AI powerhouse.

The report highlights four core areas of concern- Restructuring, CEO integrity, Transparency and safety and Conflicts of interest. The summary of findings reveals that investor return limits are now being removed. OpenAI once had a rule wherein investors could make a maximum of 100x their money. This was meant to ensure that if OpenAI succeeded in creating world-changing AI, the benefits wouldn’t go only to the rich. The site says OpenAI now plans to scrap that cap altogether.

According to the report, OpenAI says it’s keeping nonprofit control intact. But the findings of the OpenAI Files suggest the nonprofit board might no longer have the full power to hold the company accountable to its founding mission.

The report also suggests that the recent structural changes at OpenAI were made under investor pressure. It claims that OpenAI has admitted it made recent changes to please investors including the removal of return limits even though its original structure was specifically designed to resist this kind of influence.

To sum it up, this the core of what The OpenAI Files is saying. It’s a lot to take in and it’s already fueling debates about what kind of AI future we’re heading to. 

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