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Former OpenAI Engineer William Saunders on Silence, Safety, and the Right to Warn

Jun 7, 2024

Former OpenAI engineer William Saunders sheds light on the prioritization of profit over safety in tech companies. He discusses the 'right to warn' for employees raising AI risk concerns, emphasizing transparency and the need for regulatory protection. The episode explores the challenges of AI safety, confidential whistleblowing, and the impact of independent evaluation on tech product safety.

37:47

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Episode guests

William Saunders

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Quick takeaways

Researchers have a right to warn about AI risks to the public for transparency and accountability.

Interpretability in AI systems is crucial to predict behavior accurately and address potential risks.

Deep dives

Concerns About AI Incentives and Market Dominance

The podcast episode discusses the risks associated with the race to artificial general intelligence (AGI) and market dominance in the AI industry. It highlights how the focus on speed and market success can lead to shortcuts being taken, potentially compromising safety. The absence of current regulations in the US for AI systems raises concerns about early warning signs being missed by internal employees.

Safety and Accountability in Product Deployment

01:25

Prioritize Safety Over Shipping Dates

03:13

Unforeseen consequences of advanced AI integration

01:34

Intro

3min

Risks of Advanced AI Systems and Importance of AI Safety

17min

Exploring Investigation Concerns and the Importance of Proactive Risk Management

4min

Confidentiality and the Right to Warn in the Workplace

9min

Addressing the Impact of Whistleblowers and the Need for Independent Evaluation in Tech Companies

5min

This week, a group of current and former employees from OpenAI and Google DeepMind penned an open letter accusing the industry’s leading companies of prioritizing profits over safety. This comes after a spate of high profile departures from OpenAI, including co-founder Ilya Sutskever and senior researcher Jan Leike, as well as reports that OpenAI has gone to great lengths to silence would-be whistleblowers.

The writers of the open letter argue that researchers have a “right to warn” the public about AI risks and laid out a series of principles that would protect that right. In this episode, we sit down with one of those writers: William Saunders, who left his job as a research engineer at OpenAI in February. William is now breaking the silence on what he saw at OpenAI that compelled him to leave the company and to put his name to this letter.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA

The Right to Warn Open Letter

My Perspective On "A Right to Warn about Advanced Artificial Intelligence": A follow-up from William about the letter

Leaked OpenAI documents reveal aggressive tactics toward former employees: An investigation by Vox into OpenAI’s policy of non-disparagement.

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Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_