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Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman
Accuses GPT-4 of reaching AGI level but choosing to close-source
OpenAI board infiltrated by Microsoft
According to a report from the Courthouse News Service, Tesla CEO Musk filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing OpenAI and its founder Sam Altman of betraying the organization’s initial agreement to prioritize the development of technology for the benefit of humanity. Musk also stated that OpenAI’s recent relationship with tech giant Microsoft has compromised the organization’s original commitment to public open-source Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). In the lawsuit, Musk wrote:
The specific charges brought by Musk include breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices. In addition to demanding that OpenAI return to being open-source, Musk also seeks a court order to prohibit OpenAI, President Gregory Brockman, CEO Sam Altman, and Microsoft from profiting from the company’s Artificial General Intelligence technology.
Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is an AI model aimed at autonomously performing tasks at the level of human cognition, and it has always been OpenAI’s ultimate goal. Musk pointed out that this goal has been realized in GPT-4, which was released in March 2023. However, according to Musk, unlike previous versions, GPT-4 has been closed-sourced, a change made for commercial reasons rather than for the benefit of humanity.
Musk noted that only OpenAI and Microsoft know the internal details of GPT-4. Therefore, GPT-4 is the opposite of “Open AI” as it is closed-sourced for proprietary commercial purposes (with Microsoft making huge profits by selling GPT-4 to the public). If OpenAI were to release the technology to the public for free as requested, this purpose would not be achievable.
“Contrary to the founding agreement, the defendants chose to use GPT-4 not for the benefit of humanity but as proprietary technology to maximize profits for one of the world’s largest companies.”
In his lawsuit, Musk also specifically addressed the events surrounding Sam Altman’s termination and reinstatement in 2023. Musk claimed that Altman’s termination prompted Microsoft’s intervention and forced resignations of board members who were trying to remove him. Musk argued that the current board members are no longer scientists and researchers who support and understand this technology. Musk stated:
Musk was an original board member of OpenAI but left in 2018, citing conflicts between the board and Sam Altman over the development of GPT-4 and potential next-generation AGI technology. Musk was concerned that this could jeopardize public safety.
Although Microsoft is not named as a defendant in this lawsuit, it obtained exclusive licensing rights to OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model in 2020. Microsoft maintains that it still has rights to GPT-4 because it has not reached the level of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Musk believes that Microsoft’s control over Sam Altman and the OpenAI board will prevent them from claiming that GPT-4 has reached AGI level in order to maintain the privatization and profitability of the technology.
