[liberationtech] OpenAI adds Trump-appointed former NSA director to its board

[Kate Krauss]

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 <hans at gatech.edu> 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 <lt-bounces at lists.liberationtech.org> *On Behalf Of *Paola Di
> Maio
> *Sent:* Monday, June 17, 2024 10:46 PM
> *To:* Isaac M <isaac.mao at gmail.com>
> *Cc:* cat.zakrzewski at washpost.com; Kate Krauss <katiephr at gmail.com>; LT <
> lt at lists.liberationtech.org>; gerrit.devynck at washpost.com; Andrés
> Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes <alps6085 at gmail.com>
> *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 <isaac.mao at gmail.com> 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 <katiephr at gmail.com> 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 <
> alps6085 at gmail.com> 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 <katiephr at gmail.com> 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 <sawsangad at gmail.com> 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 <katiephr at gmail.com> 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.
>
>
>
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>
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