Yes, that's an interesting idea, Hans. Former NSA chief Keith Alexander, who has a history of lying about spying on Americans, is on Amazon's board.
-Kate On Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 12:21 AM Klein, Hans K <[email protected]> wrote: > The case of OpenAI is one instance of a general trend in which national > security agencies overlap with IT/media corporations. > > > > The same thing happened at Twitter, I believe: > https://twitterfiles.substack.com/p/1-thread-the-twitter-files > > > > It would be quite useful and interesting for someone to perform some > non-partisan research on such ties in general. > > > > Hans Klein > > Georgia Tech > > > > > > *From:* LT <[email protected]> *On Behalf Of *Paola Di > Maio > *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2024 10:46 PM > *To:* Isaac M <[email protected]> > *Cc:* [email protected]; Kate Krauss <[email protected]>; LT < > [email protected]>; [email protected]; Andrés > Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes <[email protected]> > *Subject:* Re: [liberationtech] OpenAI adds Trump-appointed former NSA > director to its board > > > > Thank you Kate for bringing up this issue here > > How do you think this should be tackled? My work is in algorithmic > auditablity, awareness and explainability > > trying to develop more understanding and possibly standards > > what do people suggest? > > > > *Note for Sawsan: I think the reference to the president here was purely > related to the person being part of that administration at the time?* > > > > *Paola Di Maio W3C AI KR CG* > > > > > > > > On Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 4:41 AM Isaac M <[email protected]> wrote: > > We should never place our hopes on company boards functioning in the > public interest. The recent debacles at Boeing and Tesla demonstrate this. > In Tesla's case, the board and shareholders with meme greed have only > indulged Elon Musk, further bolstering his feudalistic tendencies. > > > > On Tue, Jun 18, 2024 at 8:19 AM Kate Krauss <[email protected]> wrote: > > So OpenAI has a conflicted mission, a weak board, an insanely risky goal, > and no accountability (am I missing something?). Oh right, their product is > evolving at a million miles an hour. > > They've shed many of the staff and board members who cared most about > safety. > > > > Microsoft, their funder, could reign them in but it is motivated instead > to egg them on. And now they've got a board member with very close ties to > two US presidents and one of the world's most powerful spy agencies. The > keys are on the table, as Juan Benet would say. > > > > I don't think OpenAI could be getting more press coverage--the coverage > has been near-constant and pretty responsible. > > > > Are the NGOs working on this having any luck? > > > > -Kate > > > > > > On Sun, Jun 16, 2024 at 12:27 PM Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes < > [email protected]> wrote: > > Sorry but “accountability” runs afoul of profit so many times, and the > “mission” of OpenAI is DoubleSpeak: > > > > OpenAI is an AI research and deployment company. Our mission is to ensure > that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. > > > > Regards / Saludos / Grato > > > > Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes > > Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them (equal preference) > > > > On Jun 16, 2024, at 10:52 AM, Kate Krauss <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Hi, > > > > There is currently no accountability for the decisions at OpenAI, to my > knowledge. What has to happen for that to change? The board is not working. > > > > How can the company be held accountable? I'm especially interested in the > thoughts of policy people and lawyers on this list. And yes, choosing a > spy chief for the board is a big red flag. > > > > Sincerely, > > > > Kate > > > > On Sat, Jun 15, 2024 at 12:16 AM Sawsan Gad <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hello friends — > > > > I was so happy when Liberationtech was resurrected, and of course a former > head of NSA on AI is something that needs to covered and discussed. > > > > However, I hope we’re not quickly degenerating into Trump-this Trump-that > (and sensationalizing the title, only to realize the guy “was asked to > continue under Biden” buried deep down inside). (!) > > > > Journalists may need to do this kind of (… work..?) to keep their jobs — > god knows for how long. Normal people, not so much. > > > > People are working very hard to restore a basic level of trust among > family and friends, after the several political and civil abuses of the > last few years. Let’s please keep good spirits and stay relevant on the > things that we all care about, and not assume political leanings of others, > and that magic words will evoke certain reactions à la Pavlov. > > > > Now, back to discussing OpenAI. :) > > (Sorry Kate if that’s too forward. All respect to you, thank you for > sharing the article). > > > > Sawsan Gad > > PhD student - Geoinformatics > > George Mason University > > > > > > On Fri, Jun 14, 2024 at 8:05 PM Kate Krauss <[email protected]> wrote: > > Sam Altman, one of AI's most important leaders--at least for now--is a man > with incredible contacts, wonderful social skills, and apparently few > scruples. Appointing the former head of the NSA to OpenAI's board > demonstrates that this company is unaccountable. This company puts > Americans--and everybody else in the world--at risk. > > > > How can OpenAI be made accountable? The stakes are so high. Its board has > already failed to contain it. > > > > Not even the worst part of this, but new board member Nakasone's hobby > horse is that the US must out-compete China in generative AI. > > > > -Kate > > > > ps: What happens at OpenAI if Trump is re-elected? > > > > > *Washington Post: OpenAI adds Trump-appointed former NSA director to its > board * > Paul M. Nakasone joins OpenAI’s board following a dramatic shakeup, as a > tough regulatory environment pushes tech companies to board members with > military expertise. > > By Cat Zakrzewski and Gerrit De Vynck > Updated June 14, 2024 at 12:16 p.m. EDT|Published June 13, 2024 at 5:00 > p.m. ED > > > > The board appointment of retired Army Gen. Paul M. Nakasone comes as > OpenAI tries to quell criticism of its security practices. (Ricky > Carioti/The Washington Po > > OpenAI has tapped former U.S. Army general and National Security Agency > director Paul M. Nakasone to join its board of directors, the continuation > of a reshuffling spurred by CEO Sam Altman’s temporary ousting in November. > > Nakasone, a Trump appointee who took over the NSA in 2018 and was asked to > continue in the role under Biden, will join the OpenAI board’s Safety and > Security Committee, which the company stood up in late May to evaluate and > improve its policies to test models and curb abuse. > > The appointment of the career Army officer, who was the longest-serving > leader of U.S. Cybercom, comes as OpenAI tries to quell criticism of its > security practices — including from some of the company’s current and > former employees who allege the ChatGPT-maker prioritizes profits over the > safety of its products. The company is under increasing scrutiny following > the exodus of several key employees and a public letter that called for > sweeping changes to its practices. > > “OpenAI occupies a unique role, facing cyber threats while pioneering > transformative technology that could revolutionize how institutions combat > them," Nakasone told the Post in a statement. "I am looking forward to > supporting the company in safeguarding its innovations while leveraging > them to benefit society at large.” > > Amid the public backlash, OpenAI has said it is hiring more security > engineers and increasing transparency about its approach to securing the > systems that power its research. Last week, a former employee, Leopold > Aschenbrenner, said on a podcast that he had written a memo to OpenAI’s > board last year because he felt the company’s security was “egregiously > insufficient” to stop a foreign government from taking control of its > technology by hacking. > > Security researchers have also pointed out that chatbots are vulnerable > to “prompt injection” attacks, in which hackers can break in to a company’s > computer system through a chatbot that is hooked up to its internal > databases. Some companies also ban their employees from using ChatGPT out > of concern that OpenAI may not be able to properly protect sensitive > information fed into its chatbot. > > Nakasone joins OpenAI’s board following a dramatic board shake-up. Amid a > tougher regulatory environment and increased efforts to digitize government > and military services, tech companies are increasingly seeking board > members with military expertise. Amazon’s board includes Keith Alexander, > who was previously the commander of U.S. Cyber Command and the director of > the NSA. Google Public Sector, a division of the company that focuses on > selling cloud services to governments, also has retired generals on its > board. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.) > > > Until January, OpenAI had a ban on the use of its products for “military > and warfare.” The company says the prohibition was removed to allow for > military uses that align with its values, including disaster relief and > support for veterans. > “Our policies have consistently prohibited the use of our tools including > our API and ChatGPT to ‘develop or use weapons, injure others or destroy > property,’” OpenAI spokesperson Liz Bourgeois said. “That has not changed.” > Nakasone did not respond to a request for comment. > > Nakasone brings deep Washington experience to the board, as the company > tries to build a more sophisticated government relations strategy and push > the message to policymakers that U.S. AI companies are a bulwark against > China. > “We want to make sure that American companies ... have the lead in the > innovation of this technology, I think the disruptive technology of this > century,” Nakasone said when asked about AI during a recent Post Live > interview. > > > > -- > > -- > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable. List rules: > https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to > digest mode, or change password by emailing > [email protected]. > > -- > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable. List rules: > https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to > digest mode, or change password by emailing > [email protected]. > > -- > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable. List rules: > https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to > digest mode, or change password by emailing > [email protected]. > > -- > Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable. List rules: > https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to > digest mode, or change password by emailing > [email protected]. > >
-- Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable. List rules: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to digest mode, or change password by emailing [email protected].
