[ai_quiz id=”1″]OpenAI, the prominent artificial intelligence research institution, has weighed in publicly for the first time concerning Elon Musk’s legal suit against it. In its statements, OpenAI alleges that prior to his departure from the organization early in 2018, Mr. Musk was making efforts to transition the lab from being a nonprofit entity into a profit-oriented startup.
These remarks, which stemmed from a blog post disseminated on Tuesday evening, serve as a layer in the progressively escalating dispute between Musk and OpenAI; the latter now finds itself spearheading the industry-wide ascension of artificial intelligence technology. Additionally, OpenAI conveyed its intention to endeavour to have all allegations contained within Mr. Musk’s suit expunged.
Elon Musk initiated legal proceedings against OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, on Friday. He impugned them of a contractual breach, contending they prioritized profit-making and commercial pursuits above their commitment towards the cultivation of A.I. technology for public welfare. Mr. Musk protested that with OpenAI’s commitment to a multi-billion-dollar collaboration with tech-giant Microsoft, the A.I. lab renounced its original commitment to diligently develop and liberally share artificial intelligence technology with the wider public.
(In December, The New York Times initiated a copyright infringement lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, claiming the illicit use of news content related to artificial intelligence systems.)
OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit by Elon Musk along with Sam Altman, the former chief technology officer of Stripe Payments Company, Greg Brockman, and a number of A.I. researchers. Mr. Altman and Mr. Brockman initially planned to generate approximately $100 million. However, Mr. Musk insisted on stating to the public and press that they were looking at fundraising up to $1 billion, pledging to supply the additional funds himself, as evidenced by an email shared in the blog post.
OpenAI illuminated in the blog post that less than $45 million was received from Musk whilst over $90 million was raised from various other benefactors. The organization posited that Mr. Musk had once been among the OpenAI leaders who acknowledged that if the lab stayed a nonprofit, it would lack the funds necessary to realize its ambitious mission of building artificial general intelligence (A.G.I.)—a technological marvel capable of performing any cognitive functions a human brain can.
Upon their collective agreement to constitute a profit-driven business, Mr. Musk expressed his desire for a majority stake, initial board dominance, and the role of the CEO. Amid these deliberations, OpenAI states Mr. Musk withdrew his financial support. OpenAI’s co-founders could not accede to Mr. Musk’s demands, as they felt that bequeathing absolute control of the organization to a single individual would contravene OpenAI’s mission. This led to Musk suggesting that OpenAI be amalgamated with his electric car company, Tesla, as revealed in an email disclosed in the blog post.
Mr. Musk contends in his lawsuit that OpenAI has deviated from its original mission as it has ceased to ‘open source’ its foundational technology. However, OpenAI’s riposte includes an email in which Musk acknowledges the necessity of withholding their A.G.I. technology towards its completion, to prohibit potential harm.
Vocabulary List:
- Prominent (adjective): Important and well-known.
- Institution (noun): An established organization.
- Alleges (verb): Claims or asserts without providing proof.
- Transition (noun): A change from one state or condition to another.
- Postponing (verb): Delaying until a later time.
- Prioritize (verb): To arrange or deal with in order of importance.
