Engadget reports that Dave Willner, the trust and safety lead at OpenAI, has announced his departure from the position. Willner, who will remain in an advisory role, cited the need to spend more time with his family as the primary reason for his decision. He expressed pride in the company’s accomplishments during his tenure and described his role as one of the most interesting jobs in the world.
The announcement comes amid legal challenges for OpenAI and its product, ChatGPT. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently opened an investigation into the company over concerns that it is violating consumer protection laws and engaging in practices that could harm the public’s privacy and security. This includes a bug that leaked users’ private data, a matter directly related to trust and safety.
OpenAI is among the companies that have agreed to implement certain safeguards on their products at the request of President Biden and the White House. These measures include allowing independent experts access to the code, flagging societal risks like biases, sharing safety information with the government, and watermarking audio and visual content to indicate that it is AI-generated.