Whistleblowers have filed a complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against artificial intelligence company OpenAI, calling for an investigation into allegedly restrictive non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), Reuters reports.

The complaint, revealed in a letter seen by Reuters, urges the SEC to "immediately approve an investigation into OpenAI's prior NDAs" and review the company's current compliance efforts. The whistleblowers claim that OpenAI required employees to sign agreements waiving their federal rights to whistleblower compensation, potentially violating SEC rules.

Senator Chuck Grassley, whose office provided the letter to Reuters, expressed concern over the allegations. "Artificial intelligence is rapidly and dramatically altering the landscape of technology as we know it," he said, adding that "OpenAI's policies and practices appear to cast a chilling effect on whistleblowers' right to speak up and receive due compensation for their protected disclosures."

The complainants allege that OpenAI issued overly restrictive employment, severance, and non-disclosure agreements, which could have penalised workers for raising concerns about the company to federal authorities. They also claim that OpenAI required employees to obtain prior consent before disclosing information to federal regulators and failed to create exemptions in non-disparagement clauses for reporting securities violations to the SEC.

The whistleblowers have requested that the SEC fine OpenAI for each improper agreement and require the company to produce all contracts containing NDAs for inspection.

OpenAI, known for its chatbots with generative AI capabilities, has not immediately responded to requests for comment. The company has previously faced safety concerns as AI models become increasingly powerful. In May, OpenAI formed a Safety and Security Committee led by board members, including CEO Sam Altman, as it prepares to train its next artificial intelligence model.

The SEC has not commented on the existence of the whistleblower submission, maintaining its standard policy of neither confirming nor denying such reports.

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