Yesterday, Musk filed a new lawsuit against the world’s largest AI startup, OpenAI, just as it appeared that the Elon Musk vs. OpenAI story had been resolved.
According to the lawsuit, OpenAI and its founders, Greg Brockman and Sam Altman, intentionally misled Musk regarding the organization’s nature and failed to disclose their intention to transition from a non-profit to a for-profit entity.
“Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI is a textbook example of the conflict between altruism and greed,” the lawsuit stated.
“Intentionally exploiting Musk’s humanitarian apprehension regarding the existential threats posed by AI, Altman, in collaboration with other defendants, courted and deceived him.”
A spokesperson for OpenAI informed Techopedia via email that “Elon’s prior emails continue to speak for themselves,” as they had previously stated regarding his initial legal filing, which was subsequently withdrawn. The spokesperson was responding to inquiries regarding the litigation.
This was in reference to emails in which Musk appears to acknowledge the necessity of competing against Google and responded “yes” to an email from Ilya Sutskever, in which he stated, “As we inch closer to the development of AI, it will be logical to begin reducing transparency.”
In any event, the lawsuit persists during a philosophically puzzling year for artificial intelligence.
The lawsuit is an expansion of Musk’s February litigation, in which he accused ChatGPT of violating its non-profit status. Musk withdrew the lawsuit in June following the release of prior emails from him by OpenAI, in which he suggested that the company should develop additional revenue sources.
Related: ChatGPT New Ability to Speak Could Change Everything
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Elon Musk vs OpenAI: Latest Lawsuit
There is a certain amount of theater and spectacle in many of Elon Musk’s high-profile public actions, if you will, as if he were winking at the camera. This is evident in the recent disputes with Yann LeCunn, Meta’s Head of AI, and in his willingness to engage in a physical altercation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Nevertheless, Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI does not seem to be a PR stunt. The revised case and the severity of the accusations made indicate that he has significant grievances regarding the AI startup’s purported transition from nonprofit to for-profit AI development.
Altman and Brockman “assiduously manipulated Musk into co-founding their spurious not-for-profit venture, OpenAI, inc., by promising that it would chart a safer, more open course than profit-driven tech giants,” according to one of the lawsuit’s core contentions.
“Altman reassured Musk that the non-profit structure ensured neutrality and a focus on safety and transparency for the benefit of humanity, rather than shareholder value.”. However, the lawsuit revealed that this was merely a piece of hot air philanthropy, which served as the bait for Altman’s protracted deception.
Therefore, the contention is that Musk would not have contributed to OpenAI if he had been aware that AI development would adopt a for-profit, proprietary approach rather than an open-source model.
Furthermore, the lawsuit seeks a determination regarding the validity of OpenAI’s license with Microsoft, which grants the latter permission to utilize its models.
The concept is that tools such as GPT-4 could be regarded as outside the agreement if they are classified as artificial general intelligence. However, this is improbable, as chatbots are capable of performing a multitude of tasks, but the “original thinking” phase appears to be a long way off.
The Conflict Between Closed and Open Source AI
Musk’s lawsuit not only addresses his personal grievances with OpenAI for transitioning from a non-profit to a for-profit organization, but also the conflict between open and closed-source AI.
In the end, models such as GPT 3.5, GPT-4, and GPT-4o are black box models that are designed for profit and have little to no transparency for the general public. The absence of transparency regarding the training and decision-making processes of these models is a consequence of their black box development.
Musk’s lawsuit underscores critical concerns, including the potential self-dealing with the company, the renunciation of long-term AI safety measures, and the prioritization of profit over ethical considerations, despite my appreciation for OpenAI’s innovative products.
“This legal dispute has the potential to influence the future of AI development by balancing the imperative need for safety with innovation,” stated Umansky.
OpenAI’s Brush with Controversy
Regardless the fact that it is still too early to predict the outcome of this case in the courts, it is undeniable that OpenAI has experienced a challenging year in terms of controversy.
In November of last year, CEO Sam Altman was terminated and subsequently reinstated. Subsequently, The New York Times filed a multi-billion dollar lawsuit against the company, alleging that it had instructed its models on copyrighted materials.
Naturally, the controversy did not conclude there. A mere few months later, the hyper alignment team collapsed, as ex-insider Jan Leake claimed that OpenAI was prioritizing “shiny products” over safety. The company was also under fire for threatening to compel employees to sign non-disparagement agreements or forfeit their vested equity.
Also in May, Scarlett Johansson issued a statement in which she expressed her “disbelief and anger” at the use of a voice for GPT-4o that resembled hers without her consent by OpenAI.
The controversies that have arisen regarding OpenAI have been met with a variety of rebuttals, which we will not delve into in this article. However, it is important to note that each controversy is unfavorable when contemplating Musk’s allegations.
The Bottom Line
This most recent lawsuit against OpenAI demonstrates that the conflict between Musk and OpenAI is far from resolved.
Given the gravity of the allegations against OpenAI, the AI startup must exercise caution to maintain the public’s confidence in its dedication to responsible AI development.
