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plaidfuji | on: OpenAI’s head of ethics leaves less than a year after joining
If this were true, food companies wouldn’t have a Regulatory team. Except every single one of them does, and they function similarly to how you describe, but without dissolving. They’re treated as a constraint that must be checked before major projects can advance. Sometimes they’re the longest-lead item on a new project and if you don’t get them involved early, your project can sink at a late stage after great expense.

The only difference is AI isn’t regulated, so they just have a vague “ethics” department with no real teeth because it’s essentially PR and has no legal consequences to back up their stance.

jkahrs595 | parent | next
> The only difference is AI isn’t regulated

Seems extremely obvious that this is exactly why the food industry doesn’t dissolve its regulatory team?

red-iron-pine | parent | next
ethics isn't regulation. regulation is external, forced upon them, and has direct usually 1-to-1 consequences if you don't comply.

ethics may feed into regulation, hopefully, but the regs may just as easily give the orgs they regulate a pass on things they shouldn't; e.g. "regulatory capture".

hbn | parent | next
Food companies aren't rapidly developing groundbreaking new technologies on the most competitive battleground in computing history where everyone is trying to compete globally just to create the foundational infrastructure.

It's not that hard to get some pickled eggs on a grocery store shelf while remaining compliant with expected ethical standards for the industry. Food is a pretty mature industry.

Arkhaine_kupo | root | parent
> rapidly developing

if the speed comes at the cost of not making reasonable ethical considerations, is that not something that should be looked at?

MetroWind | root | parent
Of course it is. Doesn't mean the stakeholders are willing.
pyuser583 | parent | next
Regulatory teams are about external compliance. That’s different from “chief ethicist.”

It’s a little unclear what this person was doing. But ensuring compliance with government regulations was probably not their core function.

SkyPuncher | parent | next
I don’t view that team as saying “No”.

Instead, I view that team as saying “Customers expect safe food. Our job is to help you deliver on that”.

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k2xl | parent | next
I don't think that's a fair comparison. Regulatory teams exist to make sure companies comply with actual laws and regulations. There's a relatively objective standard they're enforcing.

Big tech has the same thing in its legal and compliance teams, and those teams absolutely can kill projects. That's pretty different from an amorphous "ethics" committee deciding what is or isn't ethical based on much more subjective criteria.

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staticman2 | parent | next
> The only difference is AI isn’t regulated

You seem to believe that regulation is "ethics backed by law".

As this is not true, your counter example is not even on point.

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mrits | parent
Food companies produce literal poison. Not a great example
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