A group of 11 current and former employees from AI companies, including Microsoft-backed OpenAI and Google’s DeepMind, raised concerns about AI risks in an open letter on Tuesday. They argue that financial motives hinder effective oversight and that corporate governance structures are insufficient to address these issues.
The letter warns of the dangers of unregulated AI, such as misinformation, loss of independent AI systems, and increased inequalities, potentially leading to “human extinction.” Examples were cited where AI image generators from companies like OpenAI and Microsoft produced voting-related disinformation despite existing policies.
The open letter raises safety concerns around generative AI technology, which can quickly and cheaply produce human-like text, imagery and audio.
The group criticized AI firms for weak obligations to share system capabilities and limitations with governments and called for a process allowing employees to raise concerns without confidentiality agreements restricting criticism.
Additionally, OpenAI revealed it had disrupted five covert influence operations using its AI models for deceptive activities online.
Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid\Reuters
