Tesla and X billionaire Elon Musk has filed a lawsuit against artificial intelligence company OpenAI, accusing the company of prioritizing profit over developing artificial intelligence for the greater good.
Musk is suing OpenAI, which he co-founded, and its CEO, Sam Altman, for breach of contract by reneging on its pledge to carefully develop artificial intelligence and make the technology widely available.
The company behind the pioneering AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT, has “turned into a de facto closed-source subsidiary of the largest technology company, Microsoft,” a lawsuit said.
The court action is the latest in a series of challenges facing Altman, who was removed from his position at OpenAI by the company's board and briefly went to work at Microsoft, OpenAI's largest shareholder, before being reinstated.
The AI giant was originally founded as a non-profit company but has evolved to have commercial interests, causing tension between board members and founders.
By fostering a close relationship with Microsoft, OpenAI and its senior executives fueled that agreement and “corrupted” the company’s mission, Mr. Musk alleges in the lawsuit.
“Under its new board, it is not only developing AGI, but actually improving it [artificial general intelligence] “To maximize profits for Microsoft, not for the benefit of humanity,” the filing said.
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A key part of OpenAI's mission for the benefit of humanity was to make the company's software open source and share it, but that did not happen, the court filing said.
Instead, the company operates on a for-profit model.
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Musk has his own AI company, called xAI, and said OpenAI doesn't focus enough on the potential harms of AI.
In addition to claiming breach of contract, Musk said in his lawsuit that OpenAI breaches a fiduciary duty and engages in unfair business practices. Mr. Musk has sought a jury trial.
OpenAI and Microsoft have been contacted for comment.
