{
  "id": 18380534,
  "title": "NDA-bound Google researchers want freedom to publicly discuss AI risks",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/nda-bound-google-researchers-want-freedom-to-publicly-discuss-ai-risks",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-05T19:06:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The A.V. Club",
    "slug": "the-a-v-club",
    "url": "https://www.avclub.com/google-deepmind-researchers-want-out-of-nda"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Google, once known for its \"Don’t Be Evil\" ethos, has transformed into a company that many view as out of control. Their AI research teams have become increasingly vocal about the potential risks and dangers associated with the technology they're developing, despite being bound by contracts that prohibit them from discussing these concerns publicly or disparaging the company after they leave. These researchers at Google's DeepMind lab, acquired by Google in 2014, are demanding the removal of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) from their contracts. While Google maintains that it encourages open dialogue about AI safety, it hasn't updated all existing contracts that contain these NDAs. Some Google employees believe the NDAs are meant to intimidate them into silence. The AI technologies they're warning about are becoming more prominent and more alarming. Recently, AI researchers at OpenAI and Anthropic left their companies in protest over the companies' handling of AI risks. Meanwhile, consumer concerns are mounting. A school district in North Carolina is being sued by parents after a Google AI-powered tool on a Chromebook allegedly contributed to a student's suicide. Google continues to integrate AI features into its products, even as it strives to remove them. In the future, Google plans to automatically disable these AI features in Search, but they won't be eliminated completely.",
  "summary": "As AI's risks and dangers continue to reveal themselves, Google DeepMind researchers want out of their NDAs to warn the public.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}