On July 30, whistleblowers, whistleblower advocates, and government officials will gather on Capitol Hill for the National Whistleblower Center’s annual National Whistleblower Day celebration. Among the featured speakers will be an AI whistleblower.
NWC recently announced that a former senior leader from one of the top U.S. AI organizations will be speaking. “Their powerful talk will spotlight the urgent need for transparency in artificial intelligence and stronger protections for industry insiders who speak out about potential risks,” NWC states.
Each year since 2013, the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution designating July 30 as National Whistleblower Day, honoring the sacrifices and contributions of whistleblowers and in celebration of the day NWC hosts an event on Capitol Hill.
The need for stronger whistleblower protections in the AI sector will be a major through-line of this year’s event.
Other featured speakers are Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), co-founders and co-chairs of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus who have sponsored a number of critical whistleblower laws.
In May, Grassley introduced the bipartisan AI Whistleblower Protection Act which provides anti-retaliation protections to AI insiders reporting safety concerns to regulators or supervisors. The bill is widely supported by whistleblower advocacy groups.
Stephen M. Kohn, Chairman of the Board of NWC, will also be speaking at the event. Kohn represented anonymous OpenAI whistleblowers in a filing which challenged the company’s use of restrictive disclosure agreements.
More speakers are still to be announced for the 2025 National Whistleblower Day celebration. In past years, speakers have included whistleblowers such as Sherron Watkins and Linda Tripp as well as government officials like SEC Chair Gary Gensler and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. The 2024 National Whistleblower Day celebration is available to watch on C-SPAN.
For more information on National Whistleblower Day (including how to attend) visit: https://www.nationalwhistleblowerday.org/
