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A US judge on Monday ruled against Elon Musk in his lawsuit against OpenAI, acquitting the artificial intelligence company of the world’s richest man for allegedly deviating from its original mission to benefit humanity.
In a unanimous decision, an Oakland, Calif., Federal Court judge said Musk brought his case too late. The jury deliberated for less than two hours.
The trial was widely seen as a critical moment for the future of OpenAI and artificial intelligence in general, both in terms of how it should be used and who should benefit from it.
People use AI for many purposes, such as education, facial recognition, financial advice, journalism, legal research, medical diagnosis and dangerous deepfakes.
After the decision, Musk’s lawyer said he has the right to appeal, but the judge suggested he may have an uphill battle because the statute of limitations expired before Musk was charged.
“There is a lot of evidence that supports the jury’s findings, and that’s why I was willing to overturn it on the spot,” said US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.
In his 2024 lawsuit, Musk accused OpenAI, its CEO Sam Altman and its president Greg Brockman of tricking him into giving away $38 million, then going back by sticking the for-profit business in its original unprofitable state and accepting tens of billions of dollars from Microsoft and other investors.
Musk called the behavior of the OpenAI defendants “stealing from charity.”
OpenAI was founded by Altman, Musk and a few others in 2015. Musk stepped down from his board in 2018, and OpenAI launched a for-profit venture the following year.
Privacy watchdog Canada is calling out OpenAI for improperly using Canadians’ personal data to train the first ChatGPT model. A joint investigation found it violated Canadian privacy laws, leaving adults and children dangerously exposed.
People use AI for many purposes such as education, facial recognition, financial advice, journalism, legal research, medical diagnosis and deep-fakes.
Many people express mistrust of technology and worry that it may take people out of their jobs.
The decision followed 11 days of testimony and arguments that saw the credibility of Musk and Altman repeatedly attacked.
Each side accused the other of favoring money over public service.
In his closing argument, Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, reminded jurors that many witnesses questioned Altman or called him a liar and that Altman did not give an unqualified yes when asked during the trial if he was completely honest.
“Sam Altman’s credibility is directly at issue,” Molo said. “If you don’t believe him, they won’t succeed.”
Musk accused OpenAI of unfairly trying to enrich investors and insiders at unprofitable expense and failing to prioritize AI safety. He also argued that Microsoft knew all along that OpenAI cared more about money than not.
OpenAI countered that it was Musk who saw the dollar signs and waited too long to claim that OpenAI violated its founding agreement to build safe artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
“Mr. Musk may have the Midas touch in some areas, but not in AI,” William Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI, said in his closing argument.
Chief political reporter Rosemary Barton talks to Niki Sharma, BC’s attorney general and deputy premier, about ongoing concerns about safeguards surrounding OpenAI following the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, and what laws the BC government is calling for.
OpenAI competes with companies like Anthropic and xAI, and is preparing for a public offering that could value the business at $1 trillion US.
Microsoft has spent more than $100 billion on its partnership with OpenAI, a Microsoft official testified.
Musk’s xAI is now part of his space and rocket company SpaceX, which is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) that could surpass OpenAI in size.
