Senator Grassley is demanding answers from Meta after it fired two whistleblowers who exposed child safety harms. We need stronger whistleblower protections now — before more harms go unreported. whistlebloweraid.org/meta-comes-u...

Meta comes under fire from Sen. Chuck Grassley for terminating two WhistleblowerAid.org clients who exposed Meta’s disregard of child safety risks - Whistleblower Aid

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Chair of Senate Judiciary Committee, took an important step toward holding Meta accountable for willingly exposing children to harm online and retaliating against l...

whistlebloweraid.org

Illinois just passed the toughest AI safety law in the country—audits, incident reports, protections for workers who speak up. Washington's answer? Preempt it. We break down the policy implications and why Congress is stalled on AI policy in our latest Substack 🧵👇 #AI #AIpolicy

While Congress argued, states are quietly writing the AI rulebook

Illinois just passed the toughest AI safety law in the country—audits, incident reports, protections for workers who speak up. Washington’s answer? Preempt it.

open.substack.com

Sarah Wynn-Williams sat silent for an hour at Hay Festival to avoid breaching Meta's legal order against her. Now Meta says even her silence counted as speech and wants her fined for it.

Voters are increasingly using AI chatbots as their nonpartisan researcher for elections — instead of news, voter guides, or social media. The problem is that AI isn't neutral. It reflects its data and its creators' biases. The way we vote might be changing for good.

‘Who Should I Vote for?’ Voters Turn to A.I. Before Casting Their Ballots

nytimes.com

Meta contractors were told to pose as kids online just to probe rival chatbots on suicide, sex, and eating disorders — and it took internal docs and insiders talking to get this out. This is exactly why whistleblower protections matter. #Meta #AI

Meta Contractors Posed as Teens to Prompt Rival Chatbots About Suicide, Sex, and Drugs

Hundreds of contractors working on a project for Meta pretended to be kids in order to see how other chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT would respond to high-risk subjects, WIRED found.

wired.com

Turns out Lumon Industries isn't that fictional. Meta laid off thousands, transitioned thousands more into AI busywork, and tracked their every keystroke. Workers are calling it a gulag. The company's response? A memo. And snacks. Work at Meta and have concerns? We can help. psst.org/safe

Meta is starting to look like a real-life episode of Severance — workers are literally calling it "the gulag." No increased snack budget will fix the fear of mass layoffs, constant surveillance, or the dread of being assigned soul-crushing AI busywork. #Meta #AI

Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth Admits the Company’s AI Reorg Was ‘Atrocious’

In an internal memo seen by WIRED, Bosworth promised employees more stability, better communication, and the return of workplace perks as the company seeks to improve morale.

wired.com

From the outside of AI companies: Landmark investments, IPO runways, and CEOs predicting futures that sound like science fiction. Inside, employees are mocking their company's own AI tools and cleaning up after products that fall far short of what leadership promises. More on our Substack ↓

The Meme Is the Message

What anti-AI jokes inside Amazon and Google are really telling us... and what Meta just did to make it all much worse

open.substack.com

The government is taking a page from Silicon Valley's playbook — and whistleblowers are going to feel it.

The federal government is making it harder for whistleblowers to speak up — borrowing the tools straight from Silicon Valley. OPM Director Scott Kupor, a former Andreessen Horowitz partner, wants all federal workers to sign NDAs. His words: "government should run more like the private sector."

The Atlantic@theatlantic.com · 2mo ago

A proposal to push federal workers to sign nondisclosure agreements is part of a bigger effort to hide government secrets—and “the message from Trump to federal workers is clear: Shut up, or else,” @qjurecic.bsky.social argues:

Illinois just passed SB 315, the nation's strongest check on major AI companies yet. Beyond self-reported safety disclosures, it mandates independent third-party audits and whistleblower protections for employees raising concerns. A real step toward accountability. #AI #SB315

Meta just laid off 10% of its workforce this morning — via email. If you're one of them, you're not alone. Before you sign your severance agreement, make sure you understand what's in it. We offer free legal advice to anyone who needs it. #Meta #AI

SpaceX is preparing to file what's expected to be the largest initial public offering in Wall Street history — and there are already red flags. Ex-OpenAI researchers warn that xAI's poor safety record is a risk worth paying attention to. When insiders speak up, it's worth listening.

WIRED@wired.com · 3mo ago

The ex-employees, who cofounded a new AI watchdog group, say investors deserve more information about xAI’s safety practices before SpaceX goes public.

🚨 For the first time ever, workers at a frontier AI lab are unionizing. From last week's 600-employee open letter to the CEO, to today's announced union — Google workers are driving action while leadership stays silent. That's why we need safe channels for workers to speak out without fear.

Google DeepMind workers in UK vote to unionize amid deal with US military

Exclusive: Worker pointed to Iran war and Pentagon’s Anthropic feud as indications the department is ‘not a responsible partner’

theguardian.com

"By the time the power dynamic shifts, the culture is already set." Read our Substack interview with an anonymous software engineer on why startup workers are the hardest to organize — and the most motivated to try.

Accidental Architects: An Anonymous Tech Worker on Idealism, Disillusionment, and Why Silicon Valley Can’t See What It’s Building

"By the Time the Power Dynamic Shifts, the Culture is Already Set" — A conversation from inside the startup

psstpsst.substack.com

Google employees are stepping up. Hundreds signed a letter to their CEO refusing a classified AI deal with the Pentagon — demanding their work not be used in "inhumane or extremely harmful ways."

Google workers petition CEO to refuse classified AI work with Pentagon

Hundreads of Google employees wrote in a letter to CEO Sundar Pichai that they did not want to see its AI technology used in “inhumane or extremely harmful ways.”

washingtonpost.com

For years, John risked his safety to document violent extremist networks from the inside. In this powerful new episode of Proton's Witness Protection, he shares the operational security measures that helped him survive undercover and the personal cost of living in secrecy for so long.

How Extreme Privacy Kept Me Alive in a Militia

YouTube video by Proton

youtube.com

Protecting a source's anonymity used to be enough. It isn't anymore. AI has changed what journalism owes the people who risk everything to tell the truth. Perugia. Friday. 2PM. Teatro del Pavone. Also live-streamed. In conversation with @juliaangwin.com, @jengibson.bsky.social, and more. #IJF26

If you’re a Meta or other tech employee getting laid off, here are a few things you should know... In solidarity, Psst.org.

Meta just fired 700 employees. Meta also just unveiled a new stock program for top executives that could increase compensation by as much as $921 million each over the next five years. The AI divide is widening: more layoffs for workers, bigger payouts for leadership. #Meta #Layoffs

Meta Lays Off 700 Employees, While Rewarding Top Executives

nytimes.com

Meta whistleblowers warned for years about harms to children's mental health and safety. A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for enabling child exploitation. But $375M is nothing to a trillion-dollar company. We need stronger whistleblower protections and real regulatory enforcement.

New Mexico jury says Meta harms children's mental health and safety, violating state law

The jury agreed that Meta engaged in "unconscionable" trade practices that unfairly took advantage of the vulnerabilities of and inexperience of children. Jurors found there were thousands of violatio...

npr.org

AI companies are now defense contractors. Soon, warfare won't just be assisted by AI—it will be decided by it. When national security interests take over, who will be left to sound the alarm? 🚨 Read more about this on our latest Substack 👇

Your toaster has more guardrails than an AI weapon

Frontier AI companies have become defense contractors operating in a regulatory vacuum that answers to virtually no one.

open.substack.com

OpenAI's erotica push is facing pushback from its own advisors. They warn that it could foster unhealthy emotional dependence on ChatGPT and risk creating a "sexy suicide coach. Without proper external oversight, only insiders can push back on products that could harm children. #Whistleblower #AI

OpenAI’s Bid to Allow X-Rated Talk Is Freaking Out Its Own Advisers

Warnings surface that the company risks creating a ‘sexy suicide coach’ if it begins allowing sexually explicit chats

wsj.com

Today at #SXSW2026, @jengibson.bsky.social sits down with whistleblower Attaullah Baig - former Head of Security at WhatsApp - to discuss how we can build real safeguards so that truth-telling in the age of AI isn’t a career-ending act of courage. Join us! 4–5 PM CT | JW Marriott, Salon AB, Austin

Employees from OpenAI and Google—including DeepMind chief scientist @jeffdean.bsky.social—filed an amicus brief backing Anthropic against the U.S. government. Inside voices matter. When employees concerns transcend company borders, it signals the stakes are real. #AI #Anthropic #OpenAI #Google

OpenAI and Google Workers File Amicus Brief in Support of Anthropic Against the US Government

Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean is among the AI researchers and engineers rushing to Anthropic's defense.

wired.com

AI employees at Google DeepMind and OpenAI have now published an open letter urging their companies to stand in solidarity with Anthropic and refuse to allow their models to be used by the Department of War for domestic mass surveillance and autonomously killing people without human oversight.

BREAKING: Anthropic refuses to cede to the Pentagon’s demands. CEO Dario Amodei said, “We cannot in good conscience accede to their request.” We need enforceable AI regulations — not just reliance on CEOs’ good consciences — to ensure safety and limits on harmful uses.

Statement from Dario Amodei on our discussions with the Department of War

A statement from our CEO on national security uses of AI

anthropic.com

🚩Anthropic dropped a core safety pledge. In 2023, it vowed not to train models unless safety could be guaranteed; a recent RSP revision from CEO Dario Amodei removes that guarantee. Once marketing itself as the most safety-first lab, Anthropic may now be balancing safety with commercial momentum.

Anthropic Drops Flagship Safety Pledge

In an abrupt shift, the company may release future AI models without ironclad safety guarantees

time.com

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summons Anthropic’s CEO to the Pentagon today, reportedly to present Amodei with an ultimatum to lift safeguards on Claude. This points to a bigger problem in AI safety: Without AI regulations, we’re left to trust individual CEOs to act responsibly and safely.

Scoop: Hegseth to meet Anthropic CEO as Pentagon threatens banishment

Hegseth plans to present an ultimatu

axios.com

🏈 AI firms spent huge sums on Super Bowl ads, each vying to brand themselves as the “good guy” — but just days later, several senior employees at top labs publicly resigned. Read our latest Substack on what these inside voices are telling us on the outside.

A.I. employees made cute ads feel less cute

In the week after the Super Bowl, frontier AI company employees provided a look behind the curtain

open.substack.com