Elon Musk is taking legal action against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman for allegedly going against the original goals of ChatGPT, which were to prioritize the betterment of humanity rather than seeking financial gain.

Billionaire Musk filed a lawsuit at San Francisco Superior Court, stating that he had secured an agreement with Altman and Greg Brockman, the president, when he funded the creation of OpenAI. The agreement ensured that the AI company would remain a nonprofit, dedicated to developing technology for the public’s benefit.

According to the lawsuit, the founding agreement of OpenAI states that their code would be available to the public instead of being exclusive to a private company for their own benefit.

According to the lawsuit, Musk claims that OpenAI and its top leaders are betraying their mission and causing tension by forging a strong alliance with Microsoft.

On Friday, OpenAI refused to provide a statement regarding the lawsuit.

The lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges that OpenAI, Inc. has become a subsidiary of Microsoft, the largest technology company globally, with its transition to closed-source. The suit claims that the company’s new board is focused on creating and improving artificial general intelligence (AGI) solely for Microsoft’s financial gain, rather than for the betterment of humanity.

Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is a term used to describe general-purpose artificial intelligence systems that can carry out a diverse range of tasks at a level equal to, or exceeding, human capability.

Musk is taking legal action for violation of agreed upon terms, violation of trust and unethical business practices. He is also seeking a court order to prevent any parties, including Microsoft, from gaining advantage from OpenAI’s technology.

According to Anupam Chander, a law professor at Georgetown University, while those assertions may not have a high chance of being successful in a court setting, that may not necessarily be the main goal for Musk. Instead, he may simply want to have his perspective and personal narrative documented.

According to Chander, the lawsuit attempts to establish Elon’s significant role in founding OpenAI and advancing generative AI technology. This includes his claim of naming OpenAI, hiring key scientists, and providing early funding. Essentially, the lawsuit seeks to solidify Elon’s place in the history of generative AI.

Musk provided initial funding for OpenAI in 2015 and served as co-chair of its board with Altman. In the legal case, he stated that he contributed “millions of dollars” to support the nonprofit research facility.

In early 2018, Musk stepped down from the board of OpenAI to avoid potential conflicts of interest while simultaneously seeking AI experts to develop self-driving technology for Tesla. OpenAI stated in a blog post in February 2018 that this move would prevent any future conflicts for Elon. Musk has since expressed differing opinions on the startup’s path, but he has continued to make donations to the organization.

In the following year, OpenAI submitted documents to establish a for-profit division and transitioned the majority of its staff to that sector. However, the company maintained a non-profit board of directors to oversee operations. In 2019, Microsoft made a significant investment of $1 billion in the company. The following year, a contract was signed granting the software giant sole access to OpenAI’s AI models. According to the company, this agreement will terminate once OpenAI has reached the goal of artificial general intelligence.

In late 2022, when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, it gained global recognition and triggered a competition among tech companies to take advantage of the public’s interest in the technology.

After being unexpectedly removed from his position as CEO by the nonprofit board in late last year without clear explanation, Altman was reinstated with the help of Microsoft. This change in leadership also led to the resignation of most of the previous board members. Musk, in his lawsuit, claimed that these changes resulted in the abandonment of the checks and balances that were in place to safeguard the nonprofit’s mission.

Musk asserts that the nonprofit’s directors have neglected their duty to fulfill its mission, however, Dana Brakman Reiser, a professor at Brooklyn Law School, doubts that Musk had the legal right to make that accusation.

“It would be very worrisome if every person who cared about or donated to a charity could suddenly sue their directors and officers to say, ‘You’re not doing what I think is the right thing to run this nonprofit,’” she said. In general, only other directors or an attorney general, for example, could bring that type of suit, she said.

Although Musk has invested in the for-profit company, he appears to be dissatisfied with the fact that the company is generating excessive profits, going against its mission of providing accessible technology to the public.

“I place importance on nonprofits fulfilling their designated mission and avoiding being influenced by any sort of profit-driven agenda. It is a legitimate concern,” noted Brakman Reiser. “I am not entirely convinced that Elon Musk is the right person to raise this issue.”

The potential legal battle between Musk, who has recently founded his own AI company, and Altman may provide insights into OpenAI’s internal discussions and choices, regardless of the validity of the accusations. However, the company’s attorneys may attempt to protect some of these records from public view.

“The finding will be groundbreaking,” shared investor Chamath Palihapitiya on Musk’s X social media site on Friday. Musk’s only response to the matter so far was simply “Yes.”

——-

OpenAI and The AP have reached an agreement allowing the former to access the latter’s news archive.

Source: wral.com