Elon Musk Sues OpenAI and Sam Altman for Breach of Contract
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and Sam Altman for allegedly abandoning OpenAI’s unique mission to develop artificial intelligence to learn humanity.
“OpenAI, Inc. has been transformed into a closed-source de facto subsidiary of the largest technology company in the world: Microsoft,” Musk’s legal professionals wrote within the lawsuit, which was filed late on Thursday in San Francisco.
“Under its new board, it is not just developing but is refining an AGI [Artificial General Intelligence] to maximize profits for Microsoft, rather than for the benefit of humanity,” claims the submitting. “On information and belief, GPT-4 is an AGI algorithm.”
OpenAI, which counts Musk amongst its cofounders, has a novel company construction. It is a nonprofit charged with safeguarding humanity in opposition to synthetic normal intelligence, or AGI, a hypothetical AI system that may surpass people at most duties. But in late 2019, after Musk left the corporate’s board, it additionally established a for-profit arm with a much less altruistic focus. The explosive reputation of ChatGPT and demand for the underlying GPT-4 AI mannequin has made that aspect of the corporate price a reported $80 billion—and drawn the ire of Musk. Last yr, the billionaire instructed CNBC he was “the reason that OpenAI exists,” because of his previous investments.
The lawsuit takes purpose at OpenAI’s relationship with Microsoft, which has invested round $13 billion into the AI firm’s for-profit enterprise in a controversial alliance that has attracted scrutiny from regulators within the US, the EU, and the UK. The UK regulator, the CMA, stated in December that it was investigating to see if the 2 corporations had successfully merged. Neither OpenAI nor Microsoft instantly replied to WIRED’s request for remark.
The lawsuit alleges that the inner design of GPT-4, the corporate’s newest mannequin, stays secret as a result of Microsoft and OpenAI stand to make a fortune by promoting entry to the AI mannequin to the general public. “GPT-4 is hence the opposite of ‘Open AI’,” the submitting reads.
AI methods exist throughout a spectrum of openness, starting from totally open supply to completely closed, relying on how a lot their interior workings are shared with researchers and members of the general public. Those in favor of open supply argue the strategy permits better transparency and potential for innovation. Arguments in opposition to embody warnings that it makes highly effective AI fashions doubtlessly out there to criminals or geopolitical adversaries. Meta’s Llama 2 mannequin is free to obtain, modify, and deploy—although it does have some limitations on use—whereas GPT-4 is just not.
“Let’s remember that Elon Musk has multiple competing AI efforts, but notably [he founded] xAI, a competing AI company,” says David Shrier, professor of observe, AI & innovation at London’s Imperial College Business School. He provides that the lawsuit could also be an try to decelerate xAI’s competitors.
Regardless, Shrier believes Musk’s lawsuit displays broader anxiousness concerning the business success of OpenAI, which pledges in its founding constitution to keep away from enabling makes use of of AI or AGI that hurt humanity or unduly focus energy. “He’s got a point insofar as OpenAI’s original mission appears to be somewhat different from where the business is headed today,” Shrier says.
