Elon Musk claims Sam Altman ‘stole a charity’ in OpenAI trial testimony

{"text":[[{"start":9.45,"text":"Elon Musk told a jury that OpenAI and its chief executive Sam Altman “stole a charity” by converting the AI lab into a for-profit entity now valued at $850bn, against its mission of ensuring AI would benefit humanity."}],[{"start":25.15,"text":"“Fundamentally, [the defendants] are trying to make this lawsuit seem very complicated, but it is actually very simple. It is not OK to steal a charity,” the world’s richest man said in a court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday."}],[{"start":39.55,"text":"Altman and Greg Brockman, OpenAI’s president, sat in court as attorneys presented opening arguments in a high-stakes legal clash over the world’s most valuable start-up."}],[{"start":50.75,"text":"Steven Molo, Musk’s lead trial lawyer, likened OpenAI to a non-profit museum with a gift shop, saying the “museum store” cannot “sell the Picasso and pocket the profits”."}],[{"start":63.2,"text":"Musk claims he was deceived into donating roughly $38mn to OpenAI, believing it would remain a non-profit organisation. He has accused Altman and Brockman of unjustly enriching themselves by converting the start-up into a for-profit company. "}],[{"start":71.45,"text":"OpenAI argues there is “no record of those promises”. “This is a dog that doesn’t bark,” its lawyer William Savitt told the court."}],[{"start":79.75,"text":"If Musk wins the four-week trial, it could unwind OpenAI’s restructuring, completed last October, and jeopardise its ambitions for a trillion-dollar initial public offering, generating potentially huge returns for investors. It could also force Altman and Brockman out of the company."}],[{"start":97.4,"text":"Microsoft — OpenAI’s largest shareholder — is also accused of “aiding and abetting” the start-up’s conduct. The defendants deny all claims. "}],[{"start":106.30000000000001,"text":"OpenAI on Tuesday argued the case was brought beyond the statute of limitations, following the runaway success of ChatGPT and after Musk launched a rival start-up, xAI."}],[{"start":118.30000000000001,"text":"Savitt said: “We are here because Mr Musk did not get his way at OpenAI . . . because Mr Musk now competes with OpenAI with his own artificial intelligence organisation called xAI . . . and because he is a competitor, he will do anything he can to attack OpenAI.”"}],[{"start":134.9,"text":"Musk’s testimony centred on the lab’s early days in 2015 as he attempted to show OpenAI had betrayed its founding vision."}],[{"start":143.05,"text":"The billionaire said he came up with “the idea, the name, recruited the key people, told them everything I know and provided all of the initial funding”."}],[{"start":152.3,"text":"“It was meant to be for a charity that did not benefit any individual person,” he added. “I specifically chose it to be something for the benefit of all humanity.”"}],[{"start":161,"text":"However, Musk had no objection at the time to launching a for-profit entity to raise more funding to pay talent and acquire computing power as long as it benefited the non-profit."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":172.3,"text":"Savitt claimed Musk only “pulled funding when he didn’t get control of the company”."}],[{"start":177.3,"text":"Internal emails were displayed in court, which show a proposed ownership structure for OpenAI with Musk taking a 55 per cent stake, while Altman, Brockman and co-founder Ilya Sutskever were to receive 7.5 per cent."}],[{"start":191.9,"text":"The co-founders objected to this ownership split and “refused to turn the keys of artificial intelligence over to one person”, Savitt said."}],[{"start":201.25,"text":"Musk said he participated in brainstorming sessions about the lab’s future. He said he wanted a larger stake because he had provided the funding, but expected it to be diluted over time."}],[{"start":211.75,"text":"In the end, Musk donated $25mn and $12.5mn in rent, out of the $1bn he said he would contribute."}],[{"start":220.1,"text":"Musk told the court he was not opposed to a for-profit entity that would provide funding to the non-profit, but “it is not OK for a for-profit to take the vast majority of the value away from the non-profit”."}],[{"start":232.5,"text":"The billionaire said his stance was based on a “longstanding concern” about what happens when “the computers are much smarter than humans” — something Musk said could come as soon as next year."}],[{"start":242.75,"text":"“It matters who is in charge of AI, and fundamentally, do you trust them?” he told the jury. “And if you have somebody who is not trustworthy in charge of AI, I think that is dangerous to the whole world.”"}],[{"start":255.15,"text":"OpenAI and Microsoft’s lawyers are expected to question Musk on Wednesday."}],[{"start":269.85,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777440089_6973.mp3"}