ElonMusk (Elon Musk) sued the generative artificial intelligence company he helped found a decade ago on Thursday night OpenAI, a move that has shocked the industry. According to the latest reports, OpenAI sent a memo to its employees on Friday evening refuting Musk's allegations and offering an alternative explanation for why it filed the lawsuit.
Musk said in the lawsuit filing that OpenAI reneged on its agreement to stop developing generative AI products like ChatGPT like a nonprofit organization. He alleges that the company is now developing software services just to make money for Microsoft, which previously invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and used it to help it develop AI products like Copilot.
Jason Kwon, OpenAI's chief strategy officer, sent a memo to its current employees on Friday responding to Musk's lawsuit, CNBC reports.In the memo, Kwon wrote that he believes Musk's lawsuit stems from a personal level:"We believe the reason behind the lawsuit may be Elon's regret for not staying involved in the company's growth...... It's very disappointing to see Elon take such action against a company he helped found, especially considering that he has worked closely with those of you who are still fighting for this mission."
Musk co-founded OpenAI in 2015 but left the board in 2018, and Kwon claimed in his memo that before that, Musk had demanded "full initial control and majority ownership" of the company and wanted to merge OpenAI with his electric car company, Tesla.
Since leaving OpenAI, Musk has said in several public appearances and interviews that he believes generative AI could pose a threat to human civilization in the future. Kwon reportedly defended OpenAI in an employee memo, saying the company remains committed to making its products "beneficial to all of humanity."