OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Tech moguls Elon Musk and Sam Altman are poised to face off in a high-stakes trial over charges of betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition that clouded the bickering billionaires’ once shared vision for developing artificial intelligence.
The trial, which began with jury selection on Monday, primarily focuses on ChatGPT maker OpenAI, which was launched in 2015 as a nonprofit startup funded by Musk. evolve into a capitalist venture Its current value is $852 billion.
The outcome of this case could shake up the balance of power in AI. This breakthrough technology has the potential to displace jobs and is increasingly feared as an existential threat to human survival.
This awareness of risk is one reason cited by Musk, the world’s richest man. File a lawsuit in August 2024 The case will now be decided by a jury in Oakland, California, and U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
The civil suit accuses OpenAI CEO Altman and his senior lieutenant, Greg Brockman, of betraying Musk by straying from the San Francisco company’s founding mission to be an altruistic steward of innovative technology. The complaint alleges that they went into money-making mode behind his back.
OpenAI dismissed Musk’s claims as a baseless case of sour grapes aimed at stunting its rapid growth and boosting Musk’s own xAI, which he launched in 2023 as a competitor.
Gonzalez-Rogers questioned potential jurors Monday about their views on Musk, Altman and artificial intelligence. Although some jurors had negative views of Musk, most said they could treat him fairly and focus on the facts of the case.
Testimony from two tech giants promises to clash in trial
Musk, who invested about $38 million in OpenAI from December 2015 to May 2017, initially sought damages of more than $100 billion.
But damages are now likely to be much smaller following a series of pretrial rulings against Musk. Musk has since abandoned his claim for damages, instead seeking an unspecified amount to fund the altruistic efforts of OpenAI’s philanthropic arm. The money will be paid primarily by OpenAI’s commercial operations and by Microsoft, which became the company’s largest investor after Musk cut off funding.
Musk’s lawsuit also seeks to remove Altman from the OpenAI board of directors. Mr. Musk’s decision to cut funding to the company led to bitter disagreements between his former allies. Musk said he was responding to deceptive practices uncovered by OpenAI’s board of directors. fire altman Before becoming CEO in 2023 got my job back A few days later.
But the trial also carries risks for Musk. He was held liable by another jury for defrauding investors. Damaging details about Mr. Musk and his business strategies could be especially damaging now. Rocket ship maker SpaceX plans to go public With an initial public offering this summer, he could become the world’s first trillionaire.
Regardless of the outcome, the trial is expected to be interesting due to contrasting testimony from two of the most influential and polarizing figures in the tech industry, Mr. Musk, 54, and Mr. Altman, 41.
“Part of the issue is whether the jury believes the people who testify and whether they can be trusted,” Gonzalez-Rogers said. During a court hearing earlier this year while explaining why she believes the case deserves a trial. The judge makes the final decision in the case, and the jury plays an advisory role.
Evidence includes a glimpse into the early days of AI competition
Musk, who is estimated to be worth about $780 billion, has long been hailed as a visionary for his role in founding digital payments pioneer PayPal, electric car maker Tesla and rocket ship maker SpaceX. But he has also sparked backlash over his social media comments, Tesla’s unfulfilled promises about self-driving technology and his role in cutting costs during President Donald Trump’s administration last year.
Some of Musk’s erratic behavior has been linked to his alleged use of hallucinogens, but Gonzalez-Rogers ruled that questions about his alleged ketamine use could not be asked during the trial. But a judge has allowed Musk to be questioned about his attendance at the 2017 Burning Man festival in Nevada, a free-spirited festival known for rampant drug use. The judge also allowed questioning about Musk’s relationship with Siobhan Gillis, a former director of OpenAI and the mother of several of his children.
Mr. Altman currently has a fortune of approximately $3 billion, but he did not emerge into the public consciousness until ChatGPT was released in late 2022. The technology boom sparked by conversational chatbots has led some to liken Altman to a 21st century version of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the inventor of the nuclear bomb.
Altman was initially hailed as a pioneer, but now faces headwinds amid concerns about the potential dangers of AI. Earlier this month, The New Yorker published a profile depicting him as an unscrupulous executive. A few days later, a 20-year-old man concerned about the impact of AI on humanity. Arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after throwing a Molotov cocktail at Altman’s San Francisco home.
Testimony from Altman and Musk’s duel is expected to shed light not only on their friendship but also on some of the thinking that sparked the AI race. According to evidence presented before the trial, the kinship was forged in 2015 when the two companies agreed to build AI in a more responsible and safer way than the for-profit companies controlled by Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Details of their bitter breakup were captured in an email exchange from February 2023 that surfaced as part of evidence leading up to the trial.
After telling Musk, “You’re my hero,” Altman said, “I’m so grateful for everything you’ve helped me with. OpenAI wouldn’t have happened without you. And it really (expletive) hurts me that you publicly attack OpenAI.”
Mr. Musk responded: “I hear your opinion, but I don’t mean to hurt you in any way. I apologize for that, but the fate of civilization is at stake.”
