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OpenAI HR called Leopold Aschenbrenner 'racist' after he raised concerns about…

2026-08-07 · 10:49 UTC ·@Kazanjy ·1 min read

Brief

Leopold Aschenbrenner is accused by the post of being called 'racist' by OpenAI HR after he raised concerns about potential Chinese Communist Party espionage. The post says HR told him a key reason for his firing was a memo he sent the board warning OpenAI’s security was broken. It adds that until 2024 OpenAI used a secret non‑disparagement clause that clawed back equity; only DKokotajlo and 22‑year‑old Leopold refused it to preserve their right to speak about safety and security.

Why it matters

OpenAI HR called Leopold Aschenbrenner 'racist' after he raised concerns about potential Chinese Communist Party espionage.

Key details

  • OpenAI HR told Aschenbrenner that a major reason for his firing was a memo he sent the board warning OpenAI's security was broken.
  • Until 2024 OpenAI used a secret non-disparagement clause that would claw back equity if unsigned; only DKokotajlo and 22-year-old Leopold refused it to preserve their right to speak about safety and security.
Source evidence

OpenAI HR calling Leo Aschenbrenner racist for caring about potential Chinese communist party espionage.

Dwarkesh Patel (@dwarkesh_sp)

OpenAI HR told Leopold that a major reason for his firing was the memo he'd sent the board warning how broken OAI's security was.

What happened next makes me even prouder to call him a friend.

People may have forgotten, but up until 2024, OpenAI had this secret non-disparagement clause in their off-boarding agreement. If you didn’t sign it, they'd clawback all your equity.

As far as I'm aware, there were only two people ever who didn’t sign it - @DKokotajlo, and Leopold Aschenbrenner.

Of all the researchers who left OpenAI before 2024, who had far more to fall back on, Leopold, all of 22 years old, was one of the only ones willing to refuse the golden handcuffs, and say, "I want to preserve my right to talk about safety and security at OAI.”

We have a lot of disagreements, but he's among the most principled and resilient people I know.

— https://nitter.net/dwarkesh_sp/status/2085576301101175254#m