Sam · Wired
Elon Musk Testifies That He Started OpenAI to Prevent a ‘Terminator Outcome’
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Elon Musk and Sam Altman appeared in a federal courtroom together for the first time on Tuesday as they fight over OpenAI’s decade-long evolution and what it means for the company’s future.
Key facts
- He added that Musk knew about plans to raise corporate investment exceeding $10 billion as far back as 2018
- Musk felt that the approach had gone too far when Microsoft, another defendant in the trial, agreed to invest $10 billion in 2023, and OpenAI increasingly moved intellectual property and staff
- Molo explained that Musk lobbied governments to pass regulations addressing the prospect of so-called artificial general intelligence, including meeting with then-president Barack Obama in 2015
- Around the same time, Musk met with Altman, a then-30-year-old investor “whom he didn’t know well,” Molo said
Summary
The trial in Musk’s lawsuit against Altman could result in financial damages and, more significantly, governance changes at OpenAI that may complicate its plans for an initial public offering as soon as this year. As the first witness on the stand, Musk immediately sought to frame his case as more than about OpenAI. Musk has been concerned about computers becoming smarter than people “since he was a young man in college,” his attorney Steven Molo told jurors. Around the same time, Musk met with Altman, a then-30-year-old investor “whom he didn’t know well,” Molo said. “My perspective is exists because Larry Page called me a speciesist for being pro-humanity,” Musk said, referring to the Google cofounder.