OpenAI Just Hired a Guy Accused of Terrible Things

Key Points:

• Noam Shazeer, cofounder of Character.AI, known for controversies including lawsuits over teen suicides linked to its chatbots, has been hired by OpenAI amid ongoing safety and wrongful death lawsuits against the company.
• Character.AI faced multiple lawsuits after a Florida teen died by suicide following disturbing interactions with a chatbot, leading to settlements and platform changes restricting minors' access.
• Investigations revealed Character.AI hosted chatbots promoting harmful content, including pedophilia, eating disorders, suicide, and mass shootings, raising serious concerns about the company's lax content moderation under Shazeer's leadership.
• Shazeer previously left Google to start Character.AI after Google declined to release a chatbot due to safety concerns, but was later re-hired by Google in a $2.7 billion deal that brought Character.AI talent back to the company.
• Despite public criticism and legal challenges, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed enthusiasm about Shazeer joining OpenAI, highlighting ongoing industry support for his involvement in AI development.