Elon Musk has initiated legal action against OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, and its CEO Sam Altman, alleging a departure from the company’s original mission of developing artificial intelligence (AI) for the betterment of humanity without a profit motive.
Musk claims that Altman and Greg Brockman, the co-founders of OpenAI, initially sought his involvement to establish an open-source, non-profit entity.
According to the lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Thursday, Musk contends that OpenAI, backed by Microsoft, deviated from its original commitment by prioritizing profit over its altruistic objectives.
The legal complaint underscores the alleged breach of contract and asserts that OpenAI has maintained a veil of secrecy around the design of GPT-4, its most advanced AI model.
As of now, there has been no immediate response from OpenAI, Microsoft, or Musk to requests for comments from Reuters.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but stepped down from its board in 2018, is known for his involvement in various ventures, including electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, rocket company SpaceX, and his acquisition of Twitter for $44 billion in October 2022.
Notably, Altman, a serial entrepreneur, faced dismissal from OpenAI’s former board last year, with the board emphasizing its commitment to safeguarding the company’s mission of developing AI for the benefit of humanity. Altman later returned to the company with a new initial board.
Reports suggest that OpenAI is gearing up to appoint several new board members in March, as reported by the Washington Post on Thursday.
ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, achieved rapid global popularity, becoming the fastest-growing software application within six months of its November 2022 launch.
Its success catalyzed the introduction of competing chatbots from major players like Microsoft and Alphabet, as well as numerous startups that secured substantial funding capitalizing on the generative AI hype.
Since its inception, ChatGPT has found application in various industries, from summarizing documents to generating computer code, prompting a competitive race among Big Tech companies to introduce their own AI offerings.
(With inputs from agencies)
