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OpenAI putting ‘shiny products’ above safety, says departing researcher

May 18, 2024 - theguardian.com
Jan Leike, a former senior employee at OpenAI, has resigned from the company, citing a shift in focus towards "shiny products" over safety. Leike, who was a key safety researcher and co-head of superalignment at OpenAI, stated that safety culture and processes have been sidelined in recent years. His resignation follows the departure of Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and fellow co-head of superalignment, indicating a significant loss of senior safety figures at the company.

Leike's departure comes ahead of a global artificial intelligence summit in Seoul, where oversight of AI technology will be discussed. In his resignation post, Leike expressed concern over the company's trajectory, stating that OpenAI should be investing more in safety, social impact, confidentiality, and security for its next generation of models. He urged OpenAI to become a "safety-first AGI company". OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, acknowledged Leike's contributions and agreed that the company has more work to do in terms of safety.

Key takeaways:

  • Jan Leike, a former senior employee at OpenAI, has resigned due to disagreements over the company's priorities, claiming that it is prioritising “shiny products” over safety.
  • Leike's departure follows the resignation of Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s co-founder and fellow co-head of superalignment, meaning two senior safety figures at OpenAI have left in the same week.
  • Leike believes that OpenAI should be investing more resources on issues such as safety, social impact, confidentiality and security for its next generation of models.
  • A panel of international AI experts released a report on AI safety, warning of the potential disparity between the pace of technological progress and the pace of a regulatory response.
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