Elon Musk sues OpenAI and Sam Altman, demanding a return to open source, accusing them of being profit-driven.

Tesla founder Elon Musk criticized OpenAI for becoming a subsidiary of Microsoft and being profit-driven.

OpenAI's Collaboration with Microsoft Not Benefitting Humanity

According to a report by CourthouseNews, Elon Musk officially filed a lawsuit against OpenAI on the evening of the 29th, alleging that OpenAI's collaboration with Microsoft has compromised OpenAI's original commitment to public, open-source Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

In the lawsuit, Musk mentioned:

OpenAI has become the world's largest closed-source tech giant – a subsidiary of Microsoft, and under its new board leadership, OpenAI's role is to maximize Microsoft's profits, rather than benefit humanity.

Demand for OpenAI to Return to Open Source

Musk has made multiple accusations including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unfair business practices, and demanded that OpenAI return to open-source, seeking a court order to prohibit Gregory Brockman, Sam Altman, and Microsoft from profiting from OpenAI.

Sam Altman's Resignation Drama as a Power Struggle

The lawsuit documents also mention Sam Altman's resignation controversy in November last year. Musk pointed out that Sam Altman's dismissal prompted Microsoft's intervention and forced board members who attempted to have Altman dismissed to resign.

Musk stated:

The current board members are no longer scientists and researchers who support and understand the technology. The nonprofit structure that OpenAI carefully built has now been replaced by a profit-oriented CEO and a board of low-tech competence, with a board seat reserved for Microsoft.

Illustration of OpenAI Company Structure: Does Sam Altman have no equity with the board? Why can Microsoft only watch from the sidelines?

OpenAI as a Profit-Making Tool

Musk was once an original board member of OpenAI, but left in 2018 due to concerns that the development of GPT-4 and the next generation AGI could jeopardize public safety.

He believes that Microsoft's control over Sam Altman and the OpenAI board will prevent GPT-4 from transitioning to AGI, maintaining the secrecy and profitability of related technologies.