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Daniel Kokotajlo quit OpenAI earlier this year, and was one of the only people who refused to sign their secret non-disparagement agreement, even though (at the

Daniel Kokotajlo quit OpenAI earlier this year, and was one of the only people who refused to sign their secret non-disparagement agreement, even though (at the time) OpenAI told him this meant he would forfeit his equity. The idea that someone who quit OpenAI months ago, and who volunteered to give up all of his OpenAI stock in order to be able to publicly criticize OpenAI, is actually part of a secret OpenAI marketing strategy, reads like a galaxy-brained conspiracy theory.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago
> idea that someone who quit OpenAI months ago, and who volunteered to give up all of his OpenAI stock in order to be able to publicly criticize OpenAI, is actually part of a secret OpenAI marketing strategy Wake me up when they go to D.C. and start working for the people at government wages. This isn’t part of OpenAI’s marketing, but it’s still self-aggrandizement.
- apsec112 2y ago
  Paul Christiano has: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Christiano_(researcher) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Christiano_(researcher)
  - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
    > Christiano has No, he hasn’t. He started a non-profit. I can’t find his pay. Also, the Wikipedia seems wrong. The Alignment Research Center is not a 501(c)(3) charity [1], they simply accept donations through one [2]. They directly claim their evaluations team, METR, is a 501(c)(3) [3], but due to the name being so close to “metro,” I’m having trouble verifying that. (They also launder at least smaller donations through the middleman charity [4].) The closest Cristiano has come to public service is his role at the NIST, an appointment which prompted a revolt amongst staffers given his ties to effective altruism [[5]. All a bit ironic for a pair of nonprofits preaching transparency. [1] https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ [2] https://www.every.org/alignment?donateTo=alignment#/donate/card https://www.every.org/alignment?donateTo=alignment#/donate/c... [3] https://www.alignment.org/donate/ https://www.alignment.org/donate/ [4] https://metr.org/donate https://metr.org/donate [5] https://web.archive.org/web/20240607060738/https://venturebeat.com/ai/nist-staffers-revolt-against-potential-appointment-of-effective-altruist-ai-researcher-to-us-ai-safety-institute/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240607060738/https://venturebe... having trouble loading the original Venture Beat article [a] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39643951 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39643951
    - apsec112 2y ago
      How is working at NIST not "going to DC and working for the people at government wages"? He is, in fact, currently working at NIST, he's on the website: https://www.nist.gov/people/paul-christiano https://www.nist.gov/people/paul-christiano The Alignment Research Center is, in fact, a 501(c)3 charity, here is their Form 990: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/863605182/202313199349329641/full https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/863... METR is also a 501(c)3. It doesn't have a Form 990 because it's so new it hasn't filed a return yet, but here is the Guidestar page: https://www.guidestar.org/Profile/99-1219864 https://www.guidestar.org/Profile/99-1219864 every.org is just a generic non-profit payment processor. Lots of people use payment processors, because managing payments is annoying. Calling this "laundering" is like saying that accepting third-party payments through Stripe is some sort of illegal sinister plot.
      - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
        > How is working at NIST not "going to DC and working for the people at government wages"? It is. I’m saying the sole evidence of outcome I could find was his staff revolting. > Alignment Research Center is, in fact, a 501(c)3 charity, here is their Form 990 Thank you, I stand corrected. (Christiano’s compensation is an admirable zero.) > every.org is just a generic non-profit payment processor Sure, and given ARC and METR are 501(c)(3)s, it’s fine. Charity to charity. If either weren’t, and were simply non-profits, it would mean a charity was lending its tax-exempt status to a non-charity. That would be sketchy. But as you’ve shown, it’s not what’s going on here.
timmytokyo 2y ago
Kokotajlo is also a frequent poster at LessWrong, the favored watering hole for AI doomers who take Eliezer Yudkowsky seriously. I think that tells you all you need to know about him and why he left OpenAI.

JumpCrisscross 2y ago

> idea that someone who quit OpenAI months ago, and who volunteered to give up all of his OpenAI stock in order to be able to publicly criticize OpenAI, is actually part of a secret OpenAI marketing strategy Wake me up when they go to D.C. and start working for the people at government wages. This isn’t part of OpenAI’s marketing, but it’s still self-aggrandizement.

apsec112 2y ago
Paul Christiano has: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Christiano_(researcher) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Christiano_(researcher)
- JumpCrisscross 2y ago
  > Christiano has No, he hasn’t. He started a non-profit. I can’t find his pay. Also, the Wikipedia seems wrong. The Alignment Research Center is not a 501(c)(3) charity [1], they simply accept donations through one [2]. They directly claim their evaluations team, METR, is a 501(c)(3) [3], but due to the name being so close to “metro,” I’m having trouble verifying that. (They also launder at least smaller donations through the middleman charity [4].) The closest Cristiano has come to public service is his role at the NIST, an appointment which prompted a revolt amongst staffers given his ties to effective altruism [[5]. All a bit ironic for a pair of nonprofits preaching transparency. [1] https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/ [2] https://www.every.org/alignment?donateTo=alignment#/donate/card https://www.every.org/alignment?donateTo=alignment#/donate/c... [3] https://www.alignment.org/donate/ https://www.alignment.org/donate/ [4] https://metr.org/donate https://metr.org/donate [5] https://web.archive.org/web/20240607060738/https://venturebeat.com/ai/nist-staffers-revolt-against-potential-appointment-of-effective-altruist-ai-researcher-to-us-ai-safety-institute/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240607060738/https://venturebe... having trouble loading the original Venture Beat article [a] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39643951 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39643951
  - apsec112 2y ago
    How is working at NIST not "going to DC and working for the people at government wages"? He is, in fact, currently working at NIST, he's on the website: https://www.nist.gov/people/paul-christiano https://www.nist.gov/people/paul-christiano The Alignment Research Center is, in fact, a 501(c)3 charity, here is their Form 990: https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/863605182/202313199349329641/full https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/863... METR is also a 501(c)3. It doesn't have a Form 990 because it's so new it hasn't filed a return yet, but here is the Guidestar page: https://www.guidestar.org/Profile/99-1219864 https://www.guidestar.org/Profile/99-1219864 every.org is just a generic non-profit payment processor. Lots of people use payment processors, because managing payments is annoying. Calling this "laundering" is like saying that accepting third-party payments through Stripe is some sort of illegal sinister plot.
    - JumpCrisscross 2y ago
      > How is working at NIST not "going to DC and working for the people at government wages"? It is. I’m saying the sole evidence of outcome I could find was his staff revolting. > Alignment Research Center is, in fact, a 501(c)3 charity, here is their Form 990 Thank you, I stand corrected. (Christiano’s compensation is an admirable zero.) > every.org is just a generic non-profit payment processor Sure, and given ARC and METR are 501(c)(3)s, it’s fine. Charity to charity. If either weren’t, and were simply non-profits, it would mean a charity was lending its tax-exempt status to a non-charity. That would be sketchy. But as you’ve shown, it’s not what’s going on here.

timmytokyo 2y ago

Kokotajlo is also a frequent poster at LessWrong, the favored watering hole for AI doomers who take Eliezer Yudkowsky seriously. I think that tells you all you need to know about him and why he left OpenAI.