Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has once again filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and its leadership, including CEO Sam Altman and President Greg Brockman. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern California, resurrects Musk's previous claims that the company has strayed from its original mission of developing open-source artificial general intelligence (AGI) technology for the benefit of humanity.
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI in 2015, alleges that Altman and his colleagues have betrayed the company's founding principles by focusing on profit rather than the advancement of AI technology for the greater good. The lawsuit seeks to nullify OpenAI's license with Microsoft and argues that the company's language models are outside the scope of its partnership with the tech giant.
This latest legal action comes after Musk withdrew a previous lawsuit against OpenAI and Altman earlier this year, in which he accused them of abandoning the company's original mission. OpenAI has not yet responded to requests for comment on the new lawsuit.
In response to Musk's previous legal challenges, OpenAI executives have defended their actions and detailed their history with Musk in a blog post. The company's founders expressed regret over the falling out with Musk, especially in light of their recent successes with the launch of ChatGPT in late 2023.
Meanwhile, Musk has launched a rival AI company called xAI, which received $6 billion in Series B funding from investors including Valor Equity Partners, Vy Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, Fidelity Management & Research Company, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, and Kingdom Holding. Musk's new venture is seen as a direct competitor to OpenAI in the AI technology sector.
Overall, the ongoing legal disputes between Musk and OpenAI highlight the complex dynamics at play in the development and commercialization of AI technology, with competing interests and visions for the future of artificial intelligence.