US financial watchdog urged to investigate NDAs at OpenAI

OpenAI whistleblowers have urged the US financial watchdog to investigate non-disclosure agreements at the startup after claiming the contracts included restrictions such as requiring employees to seek permission before contacting regulators.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) typically bar an employee from sharing company information with outside parties but a group of whistleblowers are arguing that OpenAI’s agreements could have led to workers being punished for raising concerns about the company to federal authorities.

San Francisco-based OpenAI is the developer of the ChatGPT chatbot and a key player in the artificial intelligence boom, which has been accompanied by expressions of concern from experts about the potential dangerous capabilities of the technology.

Related: Microsoft drops observer seat on OpenAI board amid regulator scrutiny

“Given the well-documented potential risks posed by the irresponsible deployment of AI, we urge the Commissioners to immediately approve an investigation into OpenAI’s prior NDAs, and to review current efforts apparently being undertaken by the company to ensure full compliance with SEC rules,” the letter to Gary Gensler, the chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said.

The letter from whistleblower representatives was sent on 1 July and published by the Washington Post on Saturday after the news organisation obtained it from the office of the US senator Chuck Grassley.

The letter states that a formal complaint has been filed with the SEC alleging “systemic” legal violations at the startup.

“Artificial intelligence is rapidly and dramatically altering the landscape of technology as we know it,” Grassley told Reuters, adding that “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”.

The letter alleges that employees have been required to sign agreements that waive their federal rights to whistleblower compensation.

The whistleblowers claim OpenAI’s employment contracts, severance agreements and NDAs violate SEC rules.

“There is an urgent need to ensure that employees working on this technology understand that they can raise complaints or address concerns to federal regulatory or law enforcement authorities,” they wrote.

The whistleblowers call on SEC commissioners to investigate OpenAI’s past NDAs, which they argue broke the law by requiring employees to sign “illegally restrictive” contracts.

The letter added that restrictive NDAs are “particularly egregious” given the potential for advanced AI systems to threaten humanity.

It urged the SEC to take four actions: to make OpenAI produce every NDA it has issued and ensure none of the signatories have had their rights affected; remind past and present OpenAI employees that they have the right to whistleblow; fine OpenAI for each improper NDA; and to order OpenAI to correct the “chilling effect” of its past practices.

An OpenAI spokesperson said: “Our whistleblower policy protects employees’ rights to make protected disclosures.

“Additionally, we believe rigorous debate about this technology is essential and have already made important changes to our departure process to remove non-disparagement terms.”

The SEC has been contacted for comment.