Elon Musk sues OpenAI, claiming betrayal of humanitarian mission

Elon Musk, a billionaire and one of the creators of OpenAI, has lodged a legal complaint against this organization and its CEO, Sam Altman. Musk alleges they have turned their back on the firm's foundational mission by prioritizing earnings over human welfare. He contends that the company, which collaborates with Microsoft, has effectively developed a general artificial intelligence (AGI) and is valued at £61 billion.

As reported by "Wall Street Journal", Musk initiated the lawsuit on Thursday evening at a court in San Francisco. In this document, the Tesla CEO accuses Altman and OpenAI of contractual betrayal, neglect of fiduciary duties, and dishonest commercial practices. Musk urges the court to compel OpenAI to disclose its technology and also to oblige Altman and OpenAI to relinquish all profits derived from activities that contradict the enterprise’s ethos.

Musk's lawsuit stems from the early days of OpenAI, envisaged as a philanthropic entity with the goal of creating a general artificial intelligence (AGI) - an AI system capable of thinking at a level comparable or superior to humans, in a fashion that's transparent and advantageous to humanity. Musk was a key benefactor to this endeavor, which was intended as an open rival to the then AI industry frontrunner, Google.

The South African-born billionaire subsequently retracted his backing for OpenAI following a disagreement with its leader, Sam Altman. Microsoft emerged as the organisation’s principal ally and, buoyed by the success of the ChatGPT model, the firm shifted its focus towards product commercialisation and became proprietary. Consequently, Microsoft assumed control over OpenAI last year, capitalising on the dispute between Altman and the organisation's board members, who were cautious of his profit-driven approach. Altman eventually emerged victorious in this conflict.

"OpenAI Inc. was transformed into an effective subsidiary of the world’s largest technology company, Microsoft, pivoting to a closed-source operation," the lawsuit mentions. "Under the new leadership, it not only continues to develop but actually fine-tunes AGI to maximize Microsoft's earnings rather than acting in humanity’s interest," it further states.

Presently, Altman and Musk are competitors in the industry, following the introduction of Musk's company's rival model and AI chatbot, Grok, last year.

Altman has consistently and publicly highlighted the potentially devastating implications of AI advancement while simultaneously pointing out the vast potential benefits and advocating for a careful approach to this matter. Responding to criticisms of too rapid technological evolution, he affirmed his commitment to safety.