{"id":205034,"date":"2020-02-18T21:39:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-18T18:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/openais-struggles-expose-tensions-between-profit-and-purpose\/"},"modified":"2020-02-18T21:39:13","modified_gmt":"2020-02-18T18:39:13","slug":"openais-struggles-expose-tensions-between-profit-and-purpose","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/openais-struggles-expose-tensions-between-profit-and-purpose\/","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI\u2019s struggles expose tensions between profit and purpose"},"content":{"rendered":"

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OpenAI\u2018s efforts to build\u00a0an AGI that benefits humanity have earned plenty of plaudits and press coverage, but they\u2019ve also further exposed the limits of techno-utopianism. <\/span><\/p>\n

MIT<\/span><\/span><\/span> Technology Review\u2019s Karen Hao published a piece on the lab this week that depicts a company buckling under the weight of its grand ambition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over three days at OpenAI\u2018s office, Hao discovered \u201ca misalignment between what the company publicly espouses and how it operates behind closed doors\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

Changes at OpenAI<\/h2>\n

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a non-profit, but last year it restructured as a \u201ccapped profit\u201d company.<\/p>\n

The lab claimed that this would attract the revenue it needed to fund its research while remaining true to its mission. But this has proven a difficult balance to maintain.<\/p>\n

[Read:\u00a0Remember that scary AI text-generator that was too dangerous to release? It\u2019s out now]<\/em><\/p>\n

In 2018, OpenAI published\u00a0a charter\u00a0detailed its realigned vision:<\/p>\n

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We will attempt to directly build safe and beneficial AGI, but will also consider our mission fulfilled if our work aids others to achieve this outcome. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The charter appears to have assumed an almost biblical quality. Religious references to the document abound through Hao\u2019s piece. The text is\u00a0\u201cso sacred that employees\u2019 pay is tied to how well they adhere to it\u201d and CTO\u00a0Greg Brockman<\/span>\u00a0recites it\u00a0<\/span>\u201clike scripture\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

OpenAI\u2019s charter attempts to add a deeper meaning to the lab\u2019s<\/span><\/span>\u00a0work. But like other religious texts, it can also be twisted to fit a new narrative \u2014 in OpenAI\u2019s case, the need to raise revenue.<\/p>\n

Hao suggests OpenAI has become\u00a0\u201cobsessed with maintaining secrecy, protecting its image, and retaining the loyalty of its employees,\u201d but stops short of dismissing its humanitarian mission.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The entire piece is worth a read, as Hao\u2019s observations reflect wider concerns about balancing profit and purpose. Find it here on MIT Technology Review. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\n Published February 18, 2020 \u2014 17:45 UTC\n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n