OpenAI leadership dismisses legal action by Elon Musk

Senior leaders at OpenAI have shared internal communications discussing the lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's legal team in California. Business news channel CNBC has reported that one of the communications suggests that the lawsuit may have been triggered by Elon Musk's feelings of remorse for distancing himself from OpenAI in the past. Additionally, the executives at OpenAI have meticulously addressed each aspect of Musk's lawsuit, possibly to reassure the employees. 

The statement examined the primary accusations made by Elon Musk. The central issue was identified as the alleged violation of the founding agreement of OpenAI. Other key points raised in the extensive filing included concerns about the potential risks of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) to humanity and the assertion that OpenAI has evolved into a "closed-source de facto subsidiary" of Microsoft. The filing also provided context to the grievances, such as detailing Musk's significant contributions when the organization functioned as a non-profit entity. 

Just before the weekend, top management personnel at OpenAI, such as CEO Sam Altman and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon seemed to have circulated internal communications to offer employees an understanding of their stance and likely to boost company morale. 

Altman's communication is notable for its personal touch. As per CNBC, this communication reminisces about Musk being a former idol of Altman and expresses a sense of longing for the previous version of the Tesla CEO. The OpenAI CEO also cautioned employees that attacks on the company are expected to persist in the coming days. 

Kwon's communication, on the other hand, adopts a more straightforward approach. As reported by Axios, Kwon initially portrayed OpenAI as a law-abiding organization that will cooperate responsibly with governmental requests. Subsequently, Kwon aimed to refute what he identified as the three primary claims of Musk's lawsuit. 

Regarding the topic of AGIs and their potential risks to humanity, Kwon diverted the discussion by stating that GPT-4 is far from being classified as an AGI. To support this assertion, he defined an AGI as a system with high autonomy capable of devising innovative solutions to enduring challenges, which he argued GPT-4 cannot achieve. 

Kwon also rejected the notion that OpenAI has strayed from its mission of serving humanity. He emphasized that the company's widely accessible APIs and products are integral to fulfilling its mission. Furthermore, he highlighted that the commercialization of the company has generated the necessary funds to implement crucial safeguards for the technology. 

Source: Newsroom