From the creators of Musk vs. Zuckerberg, Musk vs. Advertisers, and Musk vs. Delaware comes the most thrilling instalment yet… Musk vs. OpenAI.
What happened: Musk is suing the AI industry’s leading company, OpenAI, which he helped co-found in 2015, and its CEO, Sam Altman. He alleges that the company has betrayed its founding agreement to create AI for the benefit of humanity by inking its deal with Microsoft.
- Microsoft’s initial US$1 billion investment in OpenAI has grown to the point where the world’s biggest tech company now controls 49% of OpenAI’s for-profit business.
Why it’s happening: Musk has warned against the dangers of AI and sees OpenAI’s march towards artificial general intelligence (AGI) — AI that will be able to perform a range of tasks better than humans — as a case of pursuing profits that could endanger all of humanity.
- Revenge could also be a motivating factor. Musk has had a vendetta against OpenAI since leaving its board in 2018 and started a rival company called xAI last year — clearly, Musk thinks an AI company is less risky when he’s the one in charge.
Why it matters: It might seem a little rich that Musk, of all people, is calling out a company for maximizing profits at humanity’s expense, but he has a point. OpenAI is far less “open” than it once was, which some experts view as a worrying trend across the AI landscape.
- Powerful AI systems are gradually being woven into facets of everyday life while under the control of secretive private enterprises.
- While this is true of many other facets of everyday life, none pose quite the same (arguably) apocalyptic threat that AI does, with fears it could become uncontrollable.
What’s next: The suit could help increase scrutiny around OpenAI’s business practices, but likely will fall short of actually changing them. One legal expert told The Guardian, “It’s hard to see that [Musk] has any standing.” That said, other mounting legal pressures could end up quelling OpenAI’s power, like copyright lawsuits from publishers and antitrust probes.—QH