The decision comes amid a series of controversies for OpenAI. The company recently pulled one of the voices of its chatbot, ChatGPT, named "Sky", after allegations that it resembled the voice of actress Scarlett Johansson. OpenAI also disbanded its team focused on the long-term risks of artificial intelligence, with some members being reassigned within the company. This followed the departure of team leaders, OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, with Leike criticizing OpenAI's safety culture and processes.
Key takeaways:
- OpenAI has reversed a controversial decision that required former employees to sign a non-disparagement agreement in order to keep their vested equity in the company.
- The company will not enforce any non-disparagement or non-solicitation contract items and will remove such clauses from standard departure paperwork.
- OpenAI has faced recent controversy, including allegations of ripping off Scarlett Johansson's voice for a chatbot, and the disbanding of a team focused on long-term AI risks.
- Despite these controversies, OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman assert that the company has raised awareness of the risks and opportunities of artificial general intelligence.