Elon Musk has intensified his legal action against OpenAI, incorporating additional defendants, including Microsoft. This lawsuit has unearthed past grievances between Musk and OpenAI, such as Musk's rejected attempt to become the company's CEO.
The lawsuit reveals a series of emails between Musk, Sam Altman, and other executives during OpenAI's early days. It should be noted that Musk's allegations suggest OpenAI's attempt to monopolize the generative AI market. Musk could be presenting information favorable to his case, which might not fully reflect the situation.
One particularly intriguing email is from OpenAI's former Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, explaining why Musk was not wanted as a leader. Sutskever expressed concerns about Musk gaining absolute control over Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), citing Musk's desire for such control despite stating otherwise.
Sutskever worried about the survival threat posed by AI if one individual held absolute power. He also voiced concerns similar to those that led to Altman's removal as OpenAI CEO last year due to a perceived lack of transparency in his communications with the board.
In a disclosed email to Altman, Sutskever questioned Altman's motivations and the importance he placed on the CEO title, which seemed inconsistent and unclear. They pondered whether AGI was Altman's primary motivation and how it aligned with political goals.
In 2017, OpenAI considered acquiring chip manufacturer Cerebras or merging in some way, potentially using Tesla's resources. Sutskever mentioned using Tesla for this deal, though it never materialized.
When Musk sought to incorporate OpenAI into his assets, the leadership appeared open. Co-founder Andrej Karpathy believed that OpenAI could benefit from using Tesla as a financial pillar, potentially boosting Tesla’s market value and funding AI development.
