Last week, it almost seemed like Elon Musk was going to do a good thing.
Musk said that OpenAI had betrayed its original mandate of helping humanity.
The glow around Musks noble, humanity-saving mission did not last long.
Photo: STR/NurPhoto (Getty Images)
Instead, Musk had originally pushed for a for-profit corporate model that he could control.
Indeed, OpenAI alleged that Elon wanted majority equity, initial board control, and to be CEO.
In the middle of these discussions, he withheld funding.
If it were up to him, hed still be the one piloting the corporate behemoth, not Altman.
Last week, when Musk announced his lawsuit, there was a palpable sense of excitement.
For people concerned about the trajectory of the AI industry, this seemed like a big opportunity.
What AI safety folks want is an industry that ismore transparent and less market-driven.
After partnering with Microsoft, the company close-sourced its code.
Since then, theres been more than a little concern that OpenAIs newblack box business modelis causing serious harm.
Musks lawsuit seemed like the most plausible way to disrupt that partnership.
As such, Musk claimed hed been defrauded and deserved the money he had invested into the startup back.
Plenty of folks have been complaining about OpenAI lately.
Its hard to imagine that the FTC is going to do anything about generative AIs excesses.
When Musk wants something to happenno matter how ridiculoustheres a strong possibility it could actually happen.
Of course, Musk fucked it up.
As should be obvious, theyre not going to do that.
Thats not an ideal situation, but it is a very predictable one, given were living in America.
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