\n<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the discrepancy between your public comments and reports of OpenAI\u2019s actions, we request information about OpenAI\u2019s whistleblower and conflict of interest protections in order to understand whether federal intervention may be necessary,\u201d Warren and Trahan wrote in a letter exclusively shared with The Verge<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The lawmakers cited several instances where OpenAI\u2019s safety procedures have been called into question. For example, they said, in 2022, an unreleased version of GPT-4 was being tested in a new version of the Microsoft Bing search engine in India<\/a> before receiving approval from OpenAI\u2019s safety board. They also recalled OpenAI CEO Sam Altman\u2019s brief ousting<\/a> from the company in 2023 as a result of the board\u2019s concerns, in part, \u201cover commercializing advances before understanding the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Warren and Trahan\u2019s letter to Altman comes as the company is plagued by a laundry list of safety concerns<\/a>, which often are at odds with the company\u2019s public statements. For instance, an anonymous source told The Washington Post<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that OpenAI rushed through safety tests, the Superalignment team (which was partly responsible for safety) was dissolved, and a safety executive quit, claiming that \u201csafety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.\u201d Lindsey Held, a spokesperson for OpenAI, denied the claims in The Washington Post<\/em>\u2019s report, saying that the company \u201cdidn\u2019t cut corners on our safety process, though we recognize the launch was stressful for our teams.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Other lawmakers have also sought answers on the company\u2019s safety practices, including a group of senators<\/a> led by Brian Schatz (D-HI) in July. Warren and Trahan asked for further clarity on OpenAI\u2019s responses to that group<\/a>, including on its creation of a new \u201cIntegrity Line\u201d for employees to report concerns.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Meanwhile, OpenAI appears to be on the offensive. In July, the company announced a partnership with Los Alamos National Laboratory<\/a> to explore how advanced AI models can safely aid in bioscientific research. Just last week, Altman announced via X that OpenAI is collaborating<\/a> with the US Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute and emphasized that 20 percent of computing resources at the company will be dedicated to safety (a promise originally made to the now-defunct Superalignment team). In the same post, Altman also said that OpenAI has removed nondisparagement clauses for employees and provisions allowing the cancellation of vested equity, a key issue in Warren and Trahan\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Warren and Trahan asked Altman to provide information on how its new AI safety hotline for employees was being used and how the company follows up on reports. They also asked for \u201ca detailed accounting\u201d of all the times OpenAI products have \u201cbypassed safety protocols\u201d and in what circumstances a product would be allowed to skip over a safety review. The lawmakers are also seeking information on OpenAI\u2019s conflicts policy. They asked Altman whether he\u2019s been required to divest from any outside holdings and \u201cwhat specific protections are in place to protect OpenAI from your financial conflicts of interest.\u201d\u00a0They asked Altman to respond by August 22nd.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Warren also notes how vocal Altman has been about his concerns regarding AI. Last year, in front of the Senate, Altman warned that AI\u2019s capabilities could be<\/a> \u201csignificantly destabilizing for public safety and national security\u201d and emphasized the impossibility of anticipating every potential abuse or failure of the technology. These warnings seemed to resonate with lawmakers \u2014 in OpenAI\u2019s home state of California, state Sen. Scott Wiener is pushing for a bill to regulate large language models, including restrictions that would hold companies legally accountable if their AI is used in harmful ways.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n