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Sheriff’s Deputy Delivers OpenAI Subpoena During Dinner
An AI policy advocate claims OpenAI sent a sheriff’s deputy to his home to serve legal documents seeking his private communications with legislators and former employees. Nathan Calvin, a lawyer with policy organization Encode AI, described the incident on social media platform X, stating the deputy arrived as he and his wife sat down for dinner one Tuesday evening.
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“The sheriff’s deputy asked for my private messages with California legislators, college students, and former OpenAI employees,” Calvin wrote. The personal subpoena came alongside one served to his organization as part of OpenAI’s legal battle with Elon Musk.
Legal Tactics or Intimidation Campaign?
Calvin alleges OpenAI is using its lawsuit against Elon Musk as pretext to target critics of the company’s practices. “I believe OpenAI used the pretext of their lawsuit against Elon Musk to intimidate their critics and imply that Elon is behind all of them,” he stated.
The subpoenas seek information about potential Musk funding for Encode AI, according to reporting by The San Francisco Standard. OpenAI’s countersuit against Musk alleges the billionaire has engaged in “bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI’s progress.”
Calvin emphasized the timing, noting the legal action occurred while California’s SB 53 AI regulation bill was still being debated. “This is not normal. OpenAI used an unrelated lawsuit to intimidate advocates of a bill trying to regulate them,” he said, adding that he refused to provide any requested documents.
Watchdog Groups Targeted in Broader Pattern
The legal pressure appears to extend beyond Encode AI. Tyler Johnston, founder of AI watchdog The Midas Project, reported receiving similar subpoenas from OpenAI seeking extensive communication records.
“OpenAI asked for a list of every journalist, congressional office, partner organization, former employee, and member of the public we’ve spoken to about OpenAI’s restructuring,” Johnston stated. The broad request suggests a pattern of legal scrutiny against organizations critical of OpenAI’s corporate direction.
Encode AI has been actively involved in AI safety advocacy, including:
- Organizing an open letter questioning OpenAI’s nonprofit mission preservation
- Advocating for California’s SB 53 AI regulation bill
- Pushing for transparency in large AI companies’ safety processes
Internal and External Criticism Mounts
The controversy has drawn criticism from within OpenAI itself. Joshua Achiam, the company’s head of mission alignment, expressed concern on social media, writing: “At what is possibly a risk to my whole career I will say: this doesn’t seem great. We can’t be doing things that make us into a frightening power instead of a virtuous one.”
Achiam’s public statement highlights internal tension regarding the company’s legal tactics, emphasizing that “we have a duty to and a mission for all of humanity. The bar to pursue that duty is remarkably high.”
The Verge reported reaching out to OpenAI for comment but received no immediate response. The developing situation raises questions about how AI companies are responding to regulatory efforts and whether legal tools are being used to discourage criticism.
