Paul joined US AI Safety Institute while still barred from criticizing OpenAI, says Ngo
RichardMCNgo · x · 2026-09-11
- Richard Ngo highlights that Paul joined OpenAI only after it retracted its non-disparagement clauses — meaning that as head of AI safety at the US AI Safety Institute, a government auditor role, he may have been contractually constrained from criticizing OpenAI.
- Ngo links to a series recounting how the AI safety community was successively captured by OpenAI and later Anthropic, with follow-ups planned on OpenAI's internal power dynamics during his 2021-2024 tenure.
- He admits an earlier draft outright condemned Paul's decision to join OpenAI before softening it.
Related event: Ex-OpenAI Researcher: AI Safety Agenda Co-opted by OpenAI and Anthropic(3 posts)→
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