Elon Musk targets OpenAI and Sam Altman in fresh lawsuit
What's the story
Elon Musk, the tech billionaire behind Tesla, SpaceX, and Neuralink, has reignited his legal dispute with artificial intelligence company OpenAI, which he helped establish. The new lawsuit was filed in a federal court in Northern California on Monday. Musk accuses co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman of deviating from the company's founding mission to develop AI technology for the benefit of humanity.
Allegations detailed
Musk accuses OpenAI founders of manipulation and breach
The lawsuit alleges that Altman and Brockman "assiduously manipulated Musk into co-founding their spurious non-profit venture." They reportedly assured Musk that OpenAI would be a safer and more transparent entity than profit-driven alternatives. The suit further claims these assurances about OpenAI's non-profit structure were part of Altman's long-term deceptive strategy.
Information
Musk's previous lawsuit against OpenAI withdrawn
This is not the first time Musk has pursued legal action against OpenAI. He previously withdrew a lawsuit in June without providing an explanation. The earlier lawsuit centered on allegations that OpenAI had deviated from its founding agreement to keep the company's technology open source.
Legal accusations
New lawsuit claims OpenAI violated federal racketeering laws
Musk's lawyer, Marc Toberoff, described the new lawsuit as "much more forceful." The suit alleges that OpenAI violated federal racketeering laws in a conspiracy to defraud Musk. It also claims that OpenAI's contract with Microsoft would revoke the tech giant's rights to the AI firm's technology once artificial general intelligence (AGI) had been achieved.