Elon Musk has withdrawn his lawsuit against OpenAI, which was scheduled to be heard in San Francisco on Wednesday, alleging that OpenAI violated its original non-profit commitment and strayed from its original intention of developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of all mankind. Musk believes that OpenAI has reached a multi-billion-dollar cooperation with Microsoft for commercial interests, deviating from its original intention and harming public interests. This move triggered extensive discussions about the development direction and commercialization strategies of artificial intelligence, and once again put OpenAI in the focus of public attention.
Elon Musk on Tuesday withdrew his lawsuit against OpenAI, which was scheduled to go before a San Francisco judge on Wednesday but was withdrawn a day before the trial.
The lawsuit, filed in February, accuses OpenAI of breach of contract. Musk claims that OpenAI and its executives have abandoned its original non-profit mission of developing artificial intelligence and making it freely available to the public for the benefit of humanity. Instead, he said the startup succumbed to greed and put commercial interests ahead of the public interest, pointing to its recent multibillion-dollar alliance with Microsoft as evidence.
OpenAI's other two founders, CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman, are also named as defendants. OpenAI denies the lawsuit's allegations, calling them "incoherent" and "ridiculous," according to the Financial Times. The company published several emails from Musk in its early days in a March blog post, in which the tycoon appeared to acknowledge the need to pursue profits.
The reasons for Musk’s withdrawal of the lawsuit and the future direction of OpenAI are still worthy of attention. This incident once again highlights the balance between commercial interests and public interests in the development of artificial intelligence.