“The purpose of establishing Open AI is to develop AI for the ‘benefit of humanity.’”
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and CNBC reported on the 1st (local time) that Tesla CEO Elon Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for breach of contract.
The day before, Musk filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco court, claiming, “Open AI and Altman violated the company establishment agreement by prioritizing profits over the interests of humanity.”
According to the complaint, in 2015, Musk agreed with OpenAI co-founders Altman and Greg Brockman to establish a non-profit research institute for all of humanity. Altman is said to have suggested to Musk at the time that he believed humanity could not be prevented from developing AI, and that it would be better to do so before Google, which was leading the AI field.
Musk was a major supporter of OpenAI in its early days. But Musk clashed with Altman over control and plans to establish a for-profit corporation, and resigned from the board in 2018. It’s been four years since he said, “AI is potentially more dangerous than nuclear weapons.”
Afterwards, Microsoft (MS) made its first investment in OpenAI in 2019 and expanded its partnership last year. It invested $13 billion in exchange for a stake equivalent to virtually 49% of OpenAI’s for-profit revenue.
In his complaint, Musk said, “Even today, the OpenAI website proclaims that the company’s charter is to ensure that general-purpose AI (AGI) benefits all of humanity,” adding, “But in reality, it is a de facto subsidiary of Microsoft, the world’s largest technology company.” “It’s done,” he criticized.
He continued, “Under the new board of directors, Open AI is improving AGI to go beyond simple development and maximize Microsoft’s interests, not the interests of humanity,” and claimed it was a “violation of contract.”
Musk’s lawyers explained, “We filed the lawsuit to return to the purpose of establishing the company, which was to develop AGI for the benefit of humanity, not for the benefit of the individual defendant and the world’s largest technology company.”
OpenAI and Microsoft have not yet released a statement.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.