Elon Musk Drops Lawsuit Against OpenAI & Sam Altman

Elon Musk has moved to drop his lawsuit against OpenAI and Sam Altman, bringing it to a close almost as quickly as it began.

Yesterday, when Musk threatened to forbid the use of Apple products in his businesses unless Apple dropped its integration with OpenAI, the tension reached a new level. If the integration between OpenAI and Apple’s Siri went ahead, Musk even suggested that guests visiting his businesses, which include SpaceX and Tesla, would have to show identification and present their Apple gadgets at the door for confiscation.

Musk, who was a co-founder of OpenAI in 2015, filed a lawsuit against the business in February, claiming that ChatGPT had abandoned its initial charitable goal in favor of keeping some of its most cutting-edge AI technology exclusive to private clients. The case requested a jury trial as well as the repayment of any profits made by Altman and Greg Brockman, the co-founder and president of the company.

In an attempt to “maximize profits,” Musk claimed that OpenAI was racing to develop potent “artificial general intelligence” technologies. Musk departed OpenAI in 2018 after an unsuccessful attempt to persuade his fellow co-founders to allow Tesla to purchase the company. OpenAI, on the other hand, accused Elon Musk of basically being resentful that he was no longer active in the venture.

Additionally, OpenAI published emails from Elon Musk in March that seemed to reveal Musk recognizing the necessity for the company to generate substantial revenue to fund the computing resources required for its AI goals. This did not align with his lawsuit claims that OpenAI was improperly prioritizing profit.

Now, according to CNN, the loudmouthed Tesla founder has moved to drop the suit.

In a filing on Tuesday, June 11, Musk’s attorneys requested the lawsuit be dropped without providing justification. On June 12, a hearing had been set to discuss OpenAI’s move to dismiss the case. OpenAI is not expected to oppose Musk’s latest move.

Beyond Musk’s objections to the company and his questionable motives behind the objections, there have been ethical questions made regarding OpenAI’s capabilities.

In recent weeks, several prominent OpenAI safety leaders left the firm, publicly alleging that safety had not been given priority in favor of rapidly releasing new products. A few weeks later, the business announced that a new committee had been formed to provide safety and security recommendations to the board of directors.