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AIQuiet 5d · day 5

Google DeepMind staff push to end lifetime gag clauses on AI risk speech

UK-based DeepMind employees are pressing leadership to scrap non-disparagement terms that silence former staff on AI safety concerns.

newest coverage 4d agosummary written 4d ago15 pieces1.2k likes & upvotes152 comments MastodonNewswiresHacker NewsGoogle NewsRedditBluesky

What to know

  • UK-based Google DeepMind staff are reportedly asking company leadership to eliminate non-disparagement clauses that apply even after employment ends.
  • The clauses, as described, bar former employees from publicly warning about AI risks or criticizing the company.
  • The report, from the Washington Post, surfaces internal friction over whether confidentiality terms are suppressing safety-related disclosures from AI researchers.

Google DeepMind staff UK-based employeesGoogle DeepMind AI research lab, subsidiary of Google

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 11 pieces in two hours at Nov 3, 12 PM; 15 pieces over 5 days (3 articles · 4 posts · 8 comments) Nov 3, 12 PM — 11 pieces · 2 articles · 2 posts · 7 comments — Hacker News 8, Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Nov 3, 2 PM — 3 pieces · 1 article · 1 post · 1 comment — Google News 1, Hacker News 1, Reddit 1Nov 3, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 post — Bluesky 1Nov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 8 PM — quietNov 3, 10 PM — quietNov 4, 12 AM — quietNov 4, 2 AM — quietNov 4, 4 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 8 AM — quietNov 4, 10 AM — quietNov 4, 12 PM — quietNov 4, 2 PM — quietNov 4, 4 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 8 PM — quietNov 4, 10 PM — quietNov 5, 12 AM — quietNov 5, 2 AM — quietNov 5, 4 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 8 AM — quietNov 5, 10 AM — quietNov 5, 12 PM — quietNov 5, 2 PM — quietNov 5, 4 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 8 PM — quietNov 5, 10 PM — quietNov 6, 12 AM — quietNov 6, 2 AM — quietNov 6, 4 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 8 AM — quietNov 6, 10 AM — quietNov 6, 12 PM — quietNov 6, 2 PM — quietNov 6, 4 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 8 PM — quietNov 6, 10 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 2 AM — quietYesterday, 4 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 8 AM — quietYesterday, 10 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 2 PM — quietYesterday, 4 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 8 PM — quietYesterday, 10 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 2 AM — quietToday, 4 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 8 AM — quietToday, 10 AM — quiet 1
Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 12:38 PM ET
  1. 1

    1. 1 outlet first by Washington Post, 4d ago · read ↗

    • carlquintanilla.bsky.social

      “.. some staff members are forbidden by their employment contracts from criticizing the company for the rest of their lives, even if they leave the firm, according to a contract reviewed by The Washington Post ..” @washingtonpost.com $GOOGL

      carlquintanilla.bsky.socialBluesky4d ago1.2k▲view on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 9 posts in this stretch

    • Tl;dr: On Friday, a Google executive responded to the internal discussion about the non-disparagement clause and said that the company would not enforce it for workers who had left the company. “We’ve always encouraged an open dialogue about safety and responsibility,” a Google spokesperson said in an email Tuesday. “Recently, we’ve updated our…

      sxpHacker News4d agoview on Hacker News ↗

    • So in the article it says : - a former employee did it with no consequences - executives said they won't enforce itThe article is just about them asking for changing the wording of contracts, not some super secret stuff they're dying to say and really can't.Without the paywall:

      K3ULHacker News4d agoview on Hacker News ↗
    all of them →

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Google researchers demand freedom to tell the world what they know about AI

    first by HN Frontpage, 4d ago · also The Washington Post

    1 more headline

What people are saying 4 voices from 1 site · best of 9 · verbatim