OpenAI Fires Back at Elon Musk’s Lawsuit, Revealing Private Emails
In a surprising turn of events, OpenAI has responded to Elon Musk’s recent lawsuit with the release of private emails, aiming to refute the claims made against the company. The lawsuit, filed by Musk on February 29, 2024, alleges that OpenAI has become a closed-source subsidiary of Microsoft and is prioritizing profit over its mission to benefit humanity by developing artificial general intelligence (AGI).
OpenAI, founded as a nonprofit organization in 2015 by CEO Sam Altman and Musk himself (who left in 2018), has now taken a stand against the lawsuit. The company has published a statement on its website, expressing its disappointment with Musk’s actions. “We’re sad that it’s come to this with someone whom we’ve deeply admired,” OpenAI said. “Someone who inspired us to aim higher, then told us we would fail, started a competitor, and then sued us when we started making meaningful progress towards OpenAI’s mission without him.”
OpenAI’s mission is to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity, both by building safe and beneficial AGI and by creating broadly distributed benefits. The company claims to have made significant progress towards this mission and intends to dismiss all of Musk’s claims.
The statement also sheds light on the disagreements between Musk and OpenAI. OpenAI admits that it required far more resources than initially anticipated, with Musk suggesting that $1 billion would be necessary instead of the initial target of $100 million. However, OpenAI states that Musk wanted majority equity, initial board control, and the role of CEO, which went against the mission of the organization. Funding was withheld during these discussions. OpenAI explains, “We felt it was against the mission for any individual to have absolute control over OpenAI.” Musk then proposed that OpenAI should attach itself to Tesla as a source of funding.
Eventually, Musk left OpenAI, expressing doubts about the company’s future relevance without significant changes in execution and resources. OpenAI acknowledges Musk’s departure, stating, “Without a dramatic change in execution and resources, [Musk] believed OpenAI’s chance of relevancy to the likes of Google is 0%. Not 1%. I wish it were otherwise.”
OpenAI also addresses the claim that it has become a de facto subsidiary of Microsoft. While it acknowledges Microsoft’s $13 billion commitment to the company and the incorporation of OpenAI’s technology into Bing, OpenAI asserts that it still provides broad access to powerful AI, including a free version used by hundreds of millions of people daily. The company maintains that it continues to operate for the benefit of humanity.
This lawsuit from Musk is just one in a series of accusations against OpenAI, although most have been related to copyright infringement. Notably, Sarah Silverman and three other writers filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in July 2023, followed by 17 authors, including George R.R. Martin, in September. In December, The New York Times announced its own lawsuit against both OpenAI and Microsoft for the unauthorized use of published work to train AI technologies.
As the legal battle between Elon Musk and OpenAI unfolds, it remains to be seen how this clash between two influential figures in the tech industry will impact the development and future of artificial general intelligence. One thing is certain: the stakes are high, and the outcome will have far-reaching consequences for both OpenAI and the broader AI community.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter who has a deep passion for The Witcher and is always ready to discuss it at length.
