AI: Elon Musk is suing Sam Altman

Billionaire Elon Musk once again makes headlines for an action involving AI. This time it is a legal matter, as the owner of X has initiated lawsuits against Sam Altman, the founder of ChatGPT. At issue is the latter’s non-compliance with certain standards around the development of this technology.

OpenAI breaches AI development standards

Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, Tesla, and numerous other companies, is involved in a legal dispute with OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman. He has taken them to court, alleging a violation of their non-profit agreement.

In a lawsuit filed recently in the California Superior Court, Musk claims that OpenAI’s collaboration with Microsoft deviates from a fundamental commitment to advance open source General Artificial Intelligence (AGI).

The legal action is based on allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices. Musk has consequently requested an injunction to prevent the commercial exploitation of AGI technology.

At the heart of Musk’s grievances is the conversational tool ChatGPT-4, launched in March 2023. According to him, it deviates significantly from the initial principles of OpenAI. While presented as a breakthrough in AI, GPT-4 is, in his view, a closed model, which constitutes a departure from previous iterations.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for abandoning missionhttps://t.co/9LC1O7K10q pic.twitter.com/PVQpEXKl9z

— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) March 1, 2024

Criticism of OpenAI’s commercial transition

It must be said that originally, OpenAI was founded as a non-profit AI research laboratory. However, the company has transformed into a commercial entity through the creation of its commercial branch in 2020.

Critics, including Musk, lament this transition. In their view, the company now prioritizes speed of development and profit over societal benefit in accordance with its altruistic and humanistic commitments.

These accusations are somewhat corroborated by the figures. Indeed, according to some sources, OpenAI’s revenues have soared to more than $2 billion a year. This is thanks to the success of its flagship AI product, ChatGPT, which positions the company among the fastest growing tech firms in the world.

It is worth recalling that this lawsuit by the head of SpaceX comes as he has openly expressed his fears about AI. According to him, it threatens human existence. That’s why he advocates for rigorous government oversight and responsible research practices regarding the development of AI.