SpaceX and Telsa CEO Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for allegedly breaking a founding agreement that was made when Musk funded the company: to prioritize humanity over company profits.
The lawsuit that was filed on Thursday alleged that the agreement between Musk, Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman has been broken as the company is no longer aiming to be non-profit.
It points to business dealings between the company and tech giant Microsoft, which has become the biggest funder of the program since Musk left in 2018.
The suit claims that OpenAI has shifted to the development of artificial general intelligence (AGI), which aims to perform tasks at a similar or greater rate than humans can, providing opportunities for companies to secure greater profit margins.
“OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft,” the suit reads. “Under its new Board, it is not just developing but is actually refining an AGI to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity.”
It also claims that Altman intentionally changed the structure of the company to better allow the change in direction.
“Mr. Altman hand-picked a new Board that lacks similar technical expertise or any substantial background in AI governance, which the previous board had by design,” it added.
“Mr. D’Angelo, a tech CEO and entrepreneur, was the only member of the previous board to remain after Mr. Altman’s return,” the suit continues. “The new Board consisted of members with more experience in profit-centric enterprises or politics than in AI ethics and governance.”
Musk has long advocated for caution when developing artificial intelligence, issuing an open letter in March 2023 urging tech companies to not further develop AI systems for “at least 6 months” to create “a set of shared safety protocols for advanced AI design and development.”
Altman previously shared opinions with Musk as clips have been circulating of them agreeing on creating AI to serve humanity rather than a sole program that centralizes all development. Seemingly, something has changed since 2015 as Altman no longer sings the same tune he once did.
Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman and Open AI for putting profit before humanity and betraying its mission.
Here’s what Sam and Elon thought about AI way back in 2015 when they spoke to Aaron Ross Sorkin. Elon hasn’t changed. What happened to Sam? pic.twitter.com/KHz1eFuqgS
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) March 1, 2024
