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Elon Musk has renewed his lawsuit against OpenAI after dropping a previous one.
Musk is alleging that the ChatGPT maker and two of its founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, violated the company’s founding mission of developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) to benefit humanity.
Key Details
Elon Musk’s lawsuit accuses OpenAI of breaking its founding principles by prioritizing commercial interests through its partnership with Microsoft.
According to the lawsuit, OpenAI, which was founded in 2015 to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, has shifted its focus to profit-driven motives with the multibillion-dollar deal with Microsoft. Musk argues that this partnership goes against the company’s original goals.
Musk had initially filed a similar lawsuit but withdrew it a couple of weeks ago without giving an explanation.
Context and Background
OpenAI has gone through many changes and developments since it was founded in 2015. Here is a timeline of key events related to this lawsuit:
- 2015: OpenAI was started by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, and other researchers. Their mission was to develop AI for the benefit of humanity, aiming to ensure safe and transparent AI development, prioritize societal welfare, and freely share their research.
- 2018: Elon Musk left OpenAI after a power struggle, withdrawing his financial support. According to four sources familiar with the matter, Musk planned to transform OpenAI into a commercial operation, partnering with Tesla and using supercomputers. However, there was pushback from Altman and others, which is why he quit. A blog post published by OpenAI also stated that Musk had agreed that a for-profit structure was required to move the company forward but that he wanted full control or for the company to merge with Tesla.
- 2019: Musk’s withdrawal of financial support led OpenAI to change from a non-profit to a for-profit entity and then secure a multibillion-dollar partnership with Microsoft to fund its operations and projects.
Detailed Allegations
In his revived lawsuit, Elon Musk presents several specific accusations against Sam Altman and Greg Brockman:
- Misleading Commitments: Musk claims Altman and Brockman misled him about their commitment to OpenAI’s founding principles, especially the promise to maintain an open-source approach to AI technology.
- Focus: According to Musk, the founders have backtracked on their original commitment and now prioritize financial gain through their partnership with Microsoft.
- Federal Racketeering Allegations: Musk’s lawsuit alleges that Altman and Brockman conspired to defraud him, intentionally misleading him about their intentions and the direction of OpenAI.
- Self-Dealing and Board Seizure: Once OpenAI’s technology approached transformative AGI, Altman allegedly created a complex network of for-profit affiliates, engaged in self-dealing, took control of OpenAI’s board, and drained the non-profit of its valuable technology and personnel.
Responses and Reactions
In response to Elon Musk’s first lawsuit against OpenAI, Altman and other company leaders posted a blog explaining their position. They reaffirmed their commitment to OpenAI’s mission of creating AGI for the benefit of humanity but said it would require far more resources than they initially thought, which is what led them to switch to a for-profit model and partner with Microsoft.
The blog explained that Musk had initially suggested a $1 billion funding commitment to OpenAI but later withheld funding when he could not gain control over the organization. This funding issue made OpenAI realize it needed billions of dollars per year to pursue its mission effectively. As a result, it believed forming a for-profit entity was necessary to obtain the required resources.
OpenAI leaders also noted that their mission did not mean open-sourcing all aspects of their technology. They mentioned a conversation with Musk, in which he agreed that being less open as they got closer to developing AGI made sense.
As of now, OpenAI has not responded to Elon Musk’s revived lawsuit.
The delay in OpenAI’s response could be strategic, giving it time to prepare a complete rebuttal, or it might show internal discussions on how to handle this high-stakes legal and ethical challenge. Meanwhile, the AI community closely watches the situation, waiting for OpenAI’s next move.
