'Feuding tech bros' go head to head in legal showdown. But what does it mean for the future of AI?
Elon Musk and Sam Altman battle it out in court, and the outcome could carry significant ramifications for how AI development is shaped.
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Read full articleElon Musk and Sam Altman battle it out in court, and the outcome could carry significant ramifications for how AI development is shaped.
In the second week of the landmark trial between Elon Musk and OpenAI, Musk’s motivations for bringing the suit were under scrutiny. Last week, Musk took the stand, alleging that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman had deceived him into donating $38 million to the company. He claimed that they’d promised to maintain…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott. | Image: Getty Images When OpenAI was busy experimenting with AI-powered gaming bots, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were in the early days of forming an AI partnership. Court documents from the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial have provided a rare look at the communications between Microsoft's top executives about investing in OpenAI and fears the AI startup could "storm off to Amazon" and "shit-talk" Microsoft. Just days after OpenAI showed a bot beating a Dota 2 professional in the summer of 2017, Altman responded to Nadella's congratulations email with a proposal for a much bigger partnership with OpenAI to fund its next phase of AI resear … Read the full story at The Verge.
Sometimes, companies pick CEOs based on carefully laid succession plans designed to maximize investor confidence and future performance. Other times, apparently, companies pick CEOs based on a bunch of video calls while the current CEO is texting the former CEO about who the new CEO even is. Such was the story of The Blip, the days in 2024 when Sam Altman was ousted from OpenAI. We knew that situation was chaotic; the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial is showing just how chaotic it really was. Verge subscribers, don't forget you get exclusive access to ad-free Vergecast wherever you get your podcasts. Head here. Not a subscriber? You can sign … Read the full story at The Verge.
The week leading up to Thanksgiving 2023 was the AI industry's biggest soap opera moment. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted from his role at the ChatGPT-maker. The explanation? That Altman was "not consistently candid in his communications with the board." Now, via witness testimony and trial exhibits in Musk v. Altman, the public is getting a concrete look behind the scenes of that dramatic weekend for the first time, much of it centered on former CTO Mira Murati. It was a unique situation in that the rollercoaster of a power play - which seemed to change every hour - took place, in many ways, publicly. The board's strikingly vague … Read the full story at The Verge.
Can Sam Altman—or any CEO—be trusted with super intelligence?
In the second week of the trial pitting Elon Musk against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, former board member Shivon Zilis took the stand before judge and jury. Zilis is romantically involved with Musk as he is the father of her four children. In this edition, we look back at what pushed the tech magnate to file this lawsuit to begin with and put in context Zilis's testimony that Musk wanted OpenAI to be a subsidiary of Tesla. Also in this segment: FIFA boss Gianni Infantino defends the 2026 World Cup's high ticket prices.
Messages between Shivon Zilis and Tesla executives reveal plans in 2017 to start a rival AI lab, potentially led by Altman or Demis Hassabis.