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RIP. Suchir was a man of principles, he probably had to give up his OpenAI options as a result of his stance - OpenAI is reported to have a very restrictive offboarding agreements [1]

" It forbids them, for the rest of their lives, from criticizing their former employer. Even acknowledging that the NDA exists is a violation of it.

If a departing employee declines to sign the document, or if they violate it, they can lose all vested equity they earned during their time at the company, which is likely worth millions of dollars."

[1] https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/5/17/24158478/openai...



Ha, that gives a pretty good picture how "open" Openai is. They want to own their employees, enslave them in a way. One might even think the cause of that whistleblower's death is contagious upon publishing.

Really ridiculous how afraid Openai is of criticism. Acting like a child that throws a tantrum, when something doesn't go its way, just that one needs to remind oneself, that somehow there are, with regard to age at least, adults behind this stuff.


> Ha, that gives a pretty good picture how "open" Openai is.

"Any country with 'democratic' in its name, isn't".

The fight to claim a word's meaning can sometimes be fascinating to observe. We've started with "Free Software", but it was easily confused with "freeware", and in the meantime the meaning of "open source" was being put to test by "source available" / "look but do not touch" - so we ended up with atrocities like "FLOSS", which are too cringe for a serious-looking company to try to take over. I think "open" is becoming meaningless (unless you're explicitly referring to open(2)). With the advent of smart locks, even the definition of an open door is getting muddy.

Same for "AI". There's nothing intelligent about LLMs, not while humans continue to supervise the process. I like to include creativity and self-reflection in my working definition of intelligence, traits which LLMs are incapable of.


Not anymore. In May 2024 OpenAI confirmed that it will not enforce those provisions:

* The company will not cancel any vested equity, regardless of whether employees sign separation agreements or non-disparagement agreements

* Former employees have been released from their non-disparagement obligations

* OpenAI sent messages to both former and current employees confirming that it "has not canceled, and will not cancel, any vested units"

https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/24/openai_contract_staff...

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-05-24/openai-re...


> It forbids them, for the rest of their lives, from criticizing their former employer. Even acknowledging that the NDA exists is a violation of it.

Can someone with legal expertise weigh in on how likely this would be to hold up in court?


My guess is that a lawsuit from OpenAI itself is enough to ruin your life. They don't even need to win the case.

Completely unrelated: https://jalopnik.com/uzi-nissan-spent-8-years-fighting-the-c...


I have it from good authority that — ­even in the absence of a lawsuit — fighting OpenAI can lead to having dramatically less time to enjoy life.

It's a bit like smoking. Some activities are just not good for your health.


I was wondering myself. Also, the whole thing about losing vested equity - would that hold up in court?


I am amazed that such things are possible. Here on France this is so illegal that it is laughable.

I am saying "laughable" because there are small things companies try to enforce, and say sorry afterwards. But telling you that you are stuck with this for life is comedy grade.




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