A US jury ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, finding that the artificial intelligence company is not responsible to the richest person in the world for allegedly deviating from its original mission of benefiting humanity.
In a unanimous verdict, the federal court jury in Oakland, California, said Musk had brought his case too late.
The test began on April 28. It has been widely seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence in general, both in how it should be used and who should benefit from it, including financially.
In his 2024 lawsuit, Musk accused OpenAI, CEO Sam Altman and Chairman Greg Brockman of manipulating him into donating $US38 million ($53 million), then going behind his back by tying a for-profit business to his original nonprofit and accepting tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors.
Musk called the OpenAI defendants’ conduct “stealing from a charity.”
OpenAI was founded by Altman, Musk and several others in 2015. Musk left its board of directors in 2018, and OpenAI created a for-profit business the following year.
People use AI for countless purposes, including education, facial recognition, financial advice, journalism, legal research, medical diagnoses, and the creation of deceptive deepfakes.
Many people express distrust of technology and fear that it could displace people from their jobs.
The verdict came after 11 days of testimony and arguments in which Musk and Altman’s credibility came under repeated attack.
Each side accused the other of being more interested in money than serving the public.
In his closing argument, Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, reminded the jury that several witnesses questioned Altman’s candor or called him a liar, and that Altman did not give a resounding yes when asked during the trial whether he was completely trustworthy.
“Sam Altman’s credibility is directly at stake,” Molo said.
“If they don’t believe him, they can’t win.”
Musk accused OpenAI of trying to unfairly enrich investors and insiders at the expense of the nonprofit and of failing to prioritize AI safety.
He also maintained that Microsoft knew from the beginning that OpenAI cared more about money than being altruistic.
OpenAI responded that it was Musk who saw the dollar signs and that he waited too long to claim that OpenAI violated its founding agreement to build safe artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
“Mr. Musk may have the Midas touch in some areas, but not in AI,” William Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI, said in his closing argument.
OpenAI competes with AI companies such as Anthropic and Musk’s xAI, and is preparing for a possible initial public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion.
Microsoft has spent more than $100 billion on its partnership with OpenAI, a Microsoft executive testified.
Musk’s xAI is now part of his space and rocket company SpaceX, which is preparing an initial public offering that could surpass OpenAI’s in size.
Reuters
