In November, Elon Musk went to court, asking a federal judge to prevent OpenAI from changing its status from a nonprofit to a for-profit company. This shift is significant as it could reshape the future of artificial intelligence.
Recently, a judge in San Francisco denied Musk’s request, calling his argument “extraordinary.” However, the judge did allow Musk to continue with other parts of his lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman.
Musk was one of the founders of OpenAI in 2015, alongside Altman and others. But by 2018, he left the organization after a clash over leadership. After his departure, Altman decided to link OpenAI to a for-profit entity. This move aimed to secure billions of dollars needed for developing advanced AI technologies while maintaining some control under the nonprofit umbrella.
Not long after that, Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman. He claimed they were prioritizing profit over the public good, which, according to him, breached their founding agreement. Musk later broadened his lawsuit to suggest that OpenAI was violating antitrust laws by getting investors to agree not to support competing AI ventures, including his own company, xAI.
OpenAI responded by welcoming the court’s decision. A spokeswoman noted that Musk’s emails suggested he wanted to integrate a for-profit OpenAI with Tesla, which they argued would benefit him disproportionately rather than serve the organization’s mission.
This year, Musk and a group of investors upped the stakes by offering over $97 billion to buy the assets of the nonprofit part of OpenAI. However, OpenAI’s board rejected this offer. Despite the rejection, this bid might complicate Altman’s efforts to detach the for-profit side from the nonprofit and secure funding needed for future projects.
Musk’s lawyer expressed satisfaction with the court’s willingness to expedite the trial, highlighting the case’s urgent public interest. Meanwhile, in another legal matter, The New York Times has accused OpenAI and Microsoft of copyright infringement related to AI systems, charges that both organizations deny.
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Source linkArtificial Intelligence,Suits and Litigation (Civil),Nonprofit Organizations,OpenAI Labs,X.ai Inc,Altman, Samuel H,Musk, Elon
