Lawsuit against OpenAI's restructuring: defeat for Elon Musk
Elon Musk wants to take legal action to force OpenAI to remain a non-profit organization - but the court responsible won't allow the urgent application.
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OpenAI and Elon Musk have been at loggerheads for a long time. Musk himself was one of the founders of the AI start-up, but withdrew from the company in 2018 following disputes over its direction and, in particular, its management structures. He is now accusing OpenAI of having strayed from its true path, which has culminated in a lawsuit in which Musk is attempting to prevent OpenAI from transforming the non-profit company into a for-profit company.
The competent judge in California dismissed the associated emergency application. No sufficient grounds had been presented to make an immediate decision. However, according to Reuters, the judge also stated that the proceedings would be resumed regularly this year. Musk also accuses OpenAI and Microsoft of violating competition law. They are said to have urged investors not to invest in other AI start-ups.
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The attempts to prevent OpenAI's restructuring also included a takeover bid by Musk. He wanted to pay almost 100 billion US dollars for the non-profit part. OpenAI unsurprisingly turned it down.
OpenAI's actions not only upset Musk
Musk's lawyer says that his client's previous investments in OpenAI were for charitable purposes, but not so that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, could enrich himself. But in Musk's eyes, this is what happens in a restructuring.
Others also criticize OpenAI's actions. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, for example, has already asked the former US government to take up the case. He believes it could have a “seismic impact” on Silicon Valley. This is because it would then be possible for start-ups to collect millions in tax-free donations for research and development as a non-profit organization – which, if successful, could be converted into a profitable business model.
Meanwhile, OpenAI claims that its AI applications will benefit humanity as a whole. However, humanity pays for the services. Currently in the form of subscriptions, but also with data that is used to train the AI models. Here too, OpenAI invokes the US “fair use” principle, which allows the use of copyrighted works as long as it benefits everyone.
(emw)
