OpenAI responded to a letter sent by the Congressional Black Caucus that cited a lack of diversity on its board.
OpenAI’s response letter, seen by TechCrunch, was dated January 5 and signed by CEO Sam Altman and Chairman Brett Taylor. She said building a full and diverse board was one of the company’s top priorities and that it was working with an executive search firm to help it find talent. OpenAI’s board has received criticism for its lack of gender and racial diversity since it was reshaped after Altman’s ouster and hasty return in November.
In mid-December, CBC MP Emmanuel Cleaver and MP Barbara Lee sent a letter to OpenAI, asking it to “move quickly” on diversifying its board. He noted how important a Black perspective is while building machine learning tools to help mitigate AI bias. The letter was addressed to Altman, Taylor, and board members Larry Summers and Adam D’Angelo. The CBC letter then asked OpenAI five questions, including whether the company has any DEI goals for the board and how it ensures women and people of color are considered for roles. OpenAI initially gave a response deadline of December 29.
“The board of directors of OpenAI, a public non-profit created to ensure that artificial intelligence benefits all of humanity, is now made up exclusively of white men,” the CBC letter said. “We hope you will work with us and, by example, recognize the importance of the perspectives and experiences of women and people of color in the future of AI.”
In its response, OpenAI did not directly address the CBC’s request regarding the inclusion of Black voices on the panel. However, it has broadly noted that the work of its board structure continues and that the company remains committed to addressing harmful biases in AI. She then cited some examples, including its prohibition policies Hate contentHer tools are that Help expose hateThe fact is that it taught its own vision model, with which the user can ask a question about the image, and not answer any stereotypical questions.
The company ended the letter by saying that the inclusion of women and people of color is important for the future of AI and that it looks forward to working with the CBC. OpenAI did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment regarding its response letter or its plans to diversify its board. As of this month, the company’s board search is still ongoing, and no new names have been officially added.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver told TechCrunch that he appreciated the response and was encouraged by OpenAI’s commitment to hiring an outside company. However, he felt that OpenAI’s response did not provide concrete plans on how to diversify its board.
“I was hoping for a stronger response that included something in the nature of, ‘We are now trying to look across racial, ethnic, and gender barriers, and hopefully move in the direction of greater inclusivity,’” Rep. Cleaver said. He said. “I looked for something that could be implied in it, and I couldn’t find that.”
He will present the letter to the rest of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation at a lunch next week to gather their thoughts on OpenAI’s response. CBC also sent a letter last month to the Department of Labor asking it to investigate whether ongoing tech layoffs are disproportionately affecting the Black community. Management told TechCrunch that it received the letter and is reviewing it.