By now, we’re starting to understand why so many OpenAI safety employees left in recent months. It’s not due to some secret, unsafe breakthrough (so we can put “what did Ilya see?” to rest). Rather, it’s process oriented, stemming from an unease that the company, as it operates today, might overlook future dangers.
After a long period of silence, the quotes are starting to pile in. “Safety culture and processes have taken a back seat to shiny products,” said ex-OpenAI Superallignment co-lead Jan Leike last month. “OpenAI is really excited about building A.G.I., and they are recklessly racing to be the first there,” said Daniel Kokotajlo, an ex-governance team employee, soon afterward.
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