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OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

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Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#31
post #21

The only way I can see this being a valid contract is if the equity grant that they get to keep is a new grant offered the time of signing the exit contract. Any vested equity given as compensation for work could not then be offered again as consideration for signing a new agreement. Maybe the agreement is "we will accelerate vesting of your unvested equity if you sign this new agreement"? If that's the case then it…

It's not. The earlier tweets explain: the initial agreement says the employee must sign a "general release" or forfeit the equity, and then the general release they are asked to sign includes a lifetime no-criticism clause.

IOW, this is burying the illegal part in a tangential document, in hopes of avoiding legal scrutiny and/or judgement.

They're really lending employees equity, subject to the company's later feelings as to whether the employee should be allowed to keep or sell it.

Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#32

Well that's not worrying. /s I am curious how long it will take for Sam to go from being perceived as a hero to a villain and then on to supervillain. Even if they had a massive, successful and public safety team, and got alignment right (which I am highly doubtful about being possible) it is still going to happen as massive portions of white collar workers loose their jobs. Mass protests are coming and he will be an…

[deleted]

Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#33
Non-disparagement clauses seem so petty and pathetic. Really? Your corporation is so fragile and thin-skinned that it can't even withstand someone saying mean words? What's next? Forbidding ex-employees from sticking their tongue at you and saying "nyaa nyaa nyaa?"

Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#34

Well that's not worrying. /s I am curious how long it will take for Sam to go from being perceived as a hero to a villain and then on to supervillain. Even if they had a massive, successful and public safety team, and got alignment right (which I am highly doubtful about being possible) it is still going to happen as massive portions of white collar workers loose their jobs. Mass protests are coming and he will be an…

Their head of alignment just resigned https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40391299

Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#35

Well that's not worrying. /s I am curious how long it will take for Sam to go from being perceived as a hero to a villain and then on to supervillain. Even if they had a massive, successful and public safety team, and got alignment right (which I am highly doubtful about being possible) it is still going to happen as massive portions of white collar workers loose their jobs. Mass protests are coming and he will be an…

[dead]

Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#36

Is this a legally enforceable suppression of free speech? If so, are there ways to be open about OpenAI, without triggering punitive action?

Also, will Ilya likely have similar contractual bounds, despite the unique role he had at OpenAI? (Sorry for the self-reply. Felt more appropriate than an edit.)

Re: OpenAI departures: Why can’t former employees talk?

#40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OpenAI is not the government. Yet.

What do I do with this information?

Your original comment uses the term "free speech," which in the context of the discussion of the legality of contract in the US, brings to mind the first amendment.

But first amendment basically only restricts the government's ability to suppress speech, not the ability of other parties (like OpenAI).

This restriction may be illegal, but not on first amendment ("free speech") grounds.

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