OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research company co-founded by Elon Musk, has responded to his lawsuit against the company, denying his allegations and revealing his contradictory emails. The company said that it remains committed to its original mission of creating artificial general intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of humanity, and that it has not become a de facto subsidiary of Microsoft. The company also said that Musk himself supported some of the decisions that he now criticizes, such as raising more funds and reducing transparency.
Musk sues OpenAI for breach of contract and unfair competition
Musk filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last week, alleging that the company has breached its founding agreement and engaged in unfair competition. Musk claimed that the company has abandoned its nonprofit status and its vision of creating AGI for the good of humanity, and that it has become a for-profit entity that is controlled by Microsoft. Musk also claimed that the company has concealed the inner workings of its GPT-4 AI model, which is capable of generating natural language, and that it has used it for commercial purposes rather than for safety research.
Musk also accused the company of violating his intellectual property rights and his non-compete agreement, and of interfering with his other AI ventures, such as Tesla and xAI. Musk sought damages and injunctive relief from the company, and asked the court to declare the founding agreement null and void.
OpenAI refutes Musk’s claims and reveals his emails
OpenAI said in a blog post that it intends to move to dismiss all of Musk’s claims, and that it will defend itself vigorously in court. The company said that it has not breached its founding agreement, and that it has not become a de facto subsidiary of Microsoft. The company said that it has partnered with Microsoft to access its cloud computing and engineering resources, but that it remains independent and autonomous.
OpenAI also said that it has not concealed the inner workings of its GPT-4 AI model, and that it has shared it with the research community and the public. The company said that it has used the model for scientific and social purposes, such as generating summaries, translations, and stories, and that it has not used it for commercial purposes.
OpenAI also revealed some of Musk’s emails from 2018 and 2019, in which he allegedly supported some of the decisions that he now criticizes. The company said that Musk suggested that the company should raise at least $1 billion to compete with Google’s DeepMind, and that he offered to cover the shortfall. The company also said that Musk agreed that the company should reduce its transparency and not disclose its progress publicly, and that he praised the company’s achievements and direction.
The lawsuit highlights the rift between Musk and OpenAI
The lawsuit highlights the rift between Musk and OpenAI, which was once his brainchild and passion project. Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, along with other prominent tech entrepreneurs and investors, such as Peter Thiel, Reid Hoffman, and Sam Altman. The company was initially a nonprofit organization, with a mission of creating AGI that can benefit humanity, and a pledge of not pursuing profits or patents.
However, Musk left the board of OpenAI in 2018, citing potential conflicts of interest with his other AI ventures. He also expressed his concerns about the company’s direction and governance, and his disagreements with some of its leaders and decisions. He also criticized the company’s GPT-3 AI model, which is the predecessor of GPT-4, and said that it was too dangerous and powerful to be released to the public.
The lawsuit also raises questions about the future of OpenAI and the AI industry, as the company is one of the leading players and innovators in the field. The company has made significant breakthroughs and contributions to the advancement of AI, such as creating the GPT series of models, the DALL-E image generator, and the Codex code generator. The company has also attracted top talent and funding from the tech industry and the research community.