Edward Snowden cautions against trusting OpenAI and ChatGPT

World-renowned whistleblower Edward Snowden has warned people not to trust OpenAI and its products after the latest big update in the community.

Taking to his own X social media account, formerly known as Twitter, Snowden shared his opinion on the most recent move from the OpenAI company. The 40-year-old commented on news that Sam Altman’s company had appointed a retired US Army general and former head of NSA – where Snowden worked – Paul Nakasone to the board of directors.

The general was in charge of the National Security Agency between 2018 and 2023. Quoting a tweet from @MarioNawfal, Snowden declared that Nakasone would “help improve AI’s role in cybersecurity by detecting and responding to threats quickly.” Nakasone’s appointment was announced after concerns about the safety culture at the AI company.

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Edward Snowden went on to say how OpenAI had “gone full mask-off” and made a warning to his followers that under no circumstances should they “ever trust OpenAI or its products”. Some of the company’s products include the likes of ChatGPT.

Snowden went on to suggest there was only one real reason for the appointment of the former NSA boss, U Today reports. He said: “This is a willful, calculated betrayal of the rights of every person on Earth. You have been warned.”

Tech mogul Elon Musk, founder of the xAI startup, who opposes Sam Altman and the “woke” direction taken by OpenAI while making its products, gave his sarcastic and scathing opinion on the news. He wrote: “Can’t wait for OpenAI to have access to my phone.”

Earlier this week, Musk spread the word that OpenAI had arranged a collaboration with Apple for ChatGPT to be integrated into all Apple’s devices. Musk stated that in this case he would ban all Apple devices from all of his companies. His concern is that OpenAI will have access to user data and it will copy it to its servers for further unsolicited use.

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Elsewhere, fans noticed that OpenAI‘s latest chat assistant sounds similar to Scarlett Johansson‘s voice in the movie Her. Now, the actress is speaking out against the move, noting that the company, which launched ChatGPT, previously reached out to work with her. Scarlett admitted that she denied a partnership months before the reveal of the company’s AI personal assistant voice choices were revealed.

When the world first heard the voices, fans immediately connected one of them to Scarlett’s computer operating character in Her (2013) which becomes the love interest of the man using the device. As speculation and jokes spread through the internet, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman fueled the conversation by posting the word “Her” on X, formerly known as Twitter.