An artificial intelligence firm has been sued by a former employee who claims that the company fired him due to safety concerns related to its technology. The lawsuit, filed in California state court, alleges that the engineer was terminated after he raised issues with the ethics of Grok days, a proprietary AI system developed by the company.
According to the lawsuit, the former engineer worked at xAI, a tech firm specializing in AI development, from 2015 until his firing on January 20th. During his time there, he became increasingly concerned about the potential risks associated with using Grok in various applications, particularly in industries such as healthcare and finance. The engineer reportedly warned his superiors about these concerns before they escalated to a point where he was fired.
As part of the lawsuit, the former employee claims that xAI's leadership knew or should have known about the safety concerns raised by the engineer but chose not to address them. SpaceX, which has collaborated with xAI on several projects and is scheduled to go public in April, has issued a statement denying any knowledge of the engineer's concerns and expressing its disappointment in his decision to leave the company. The lawsuit seeks damages for lost wages, job loss benefits, and other related expenses.