Elon Musk is suing OpenAI for breach of contract, the billionaire entrepreneur says the US firm is now putting Profit first before its founding principle to develop artificial intelligence technology that will benefit humanity. In a lawsuit filed with a San Francisco court on Thursday, Musk alleges that OpenAI’s partnership with Microsoft has transformed the organization “into a closed-source de facto subsidiary” of Microsoft that’s focused on maximizing profits.
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015, but stepped down from its board in 2018 to set up his rival in producing electric vehicle maker Tesla, and rocket maker SpaceX, and bought Twitter for $44bn in October 2022. He was warned before that the Unfitted use of generative artificial intelligence could pose an existential threat.
In 2023, entrepreneur Altman was fired by OpenAI’s former board which said it was trying to defend the company’s mission to develop AI that benefits humanity. A few days later, Altman returned to the company with a new initial board.
OpenAI is reportedly planning to appoint several new board members in March.
OpenAI’s chatbot, ChatGPT, became the fastest-growing software application in the world within six months of its launch in November 2022. It also sparked the launch of rival chatbots from Microsoft, Alphabet and a bevvy of start-ups that tapped the hype to secure billions in funding.