Sam Altman · Microsoft · OpenAI · Elon Musk · AGI · Greg Brockman · The Verge
Musk v. Altman proved that AI is led by the wrong people
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 2 sources. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◎ Multiple-sources
Public opinion of the AI industry is already sinking.
Key facts
- But a 2025 Pew Research study found that nearly 60 percent of US adults feel they have little to no control over how AI is used in their lives
- In a Pew Research survey from last summer, half of US adults said the “increased use of AI in daily life makes them feel more concerned than excited”, and only 10 percent said they felt more excited
- Elon Musk argued that Sam Altman, with whom he helped found the now-massive company OpenAI, shouldn’t direct the future of AI
- A central focus of Musk v. Altman was “the blip,” a five-day period in November 2023 when OpenAI’s board removed Altman as CEO
Summary
The tech trial of the year, Musk v. Altman, was ultimately a fight for control. In a strictly legal sense, three weeks of testimony added up to nothing. OpenAI was, in the testimony of both Musk and Altman, founded to stop powerful AI from being owned and advanced by the wrong people. Fellow cofounders Greg Brockman and Ilya Sutskever so strongly opposed one-person control that they seemed willing to torpedo a lucrative deal that could, in their words, give Musk an “AI dictatorship.” In a part of the same email addressed to Altman, Brockman and Sutskever questioned his motivations, writing, “The team haven’t been able to fully trust your judgements throughout this process … Is AGI truly your primary motivation? These concerns would be quickly borne out.