zlacker

>>prawn+(OP)
Poe AI is just a clear straight conflict, no question there.

On the governance matter, the thesis is a bit more shakey.

  > Helen Toner and Tasha McCauley... participating in an... AI governance organization... calls into question the independence of their votes.

  > I am not accusing anyone (to be clear, even the Board Directors that I consider conflicted) of having acted subject to conflicts of interest. [AKA "Just Asking Questions" technique]

  > If... this act of governance was unwise, it calls into serious question the ability of these people and their organizations... to conduct governance

So they're conflicted because they're also in governance, and they shouldn't govern because they might have been conflicted.

It seems like the author's real problem isn't any specific conduct by these two board members, but more of a "you got chocolate in my peanut butter" issue.

>>schiff+v6
The conflicts of interest here are staggering. Non-profits are supposed to benefit the public. At a minimum they need an Independent Review.

>>patric+Gg
You are thinking of a public charity. Not all non-profits are public charities.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-public-pr...

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/eo-operational-req...

"Under the tax law, a section 501(c)(3) organization is presumed to be a private foundation unless it requests, and qualifies for, a ruling or determination as a public charity. Organizations that qualify for public charity status include churches, schools, hospitals, medical research organizations, publicly-supported organizations (i.e., organizations that receive a specified portion of their total support from public sources), and certain supporting organizations."

Edit: Looking at the IRS determination letter from November 3, 2016, OpenAI was organized as a public charity under 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) "Organizations Receiving Substantial Support from a Governmental Unit or from the General Public"

Their last 990 form, filed November 15, 2021, for the calendar year 2020, shows total support over the past 5 years (2016-2020) of $133M, only $41M of which was individual donations of over 2% ($2.6M) so they easily met the 5-year public support test.

>>baking+pC
Note: Propublica has the 2021 990, but it isn't on the IRS website.

Total support includes over $70M in other income in 2018 and 2019 which is missing the required explanation in the 990's. In other words, out of the $92M in public support, $70M is unexplained other income.

Also, Open Philanthropy pledged $30 million in 2017 ($10 per year for 2017-2019) which is considered public support since they are a public charity. However that is more than the $22 in true public support that was reported. Perhaps they didn't complete the pledge.