Former OpenAI Employees Support Elon Musk's Lawsuit To Stop OpenAI Restructuring

Elon Musk, sues OpenAI to maintain the nonprofit status of the artificial intelligence company. (photo: x @ElonMuskNews47)

JAKARTA A total of twelve former OpenAI employees officially support the lawsuit filed by OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk. The lawsuit aims to maintain the non-profit status of the artificial intelligence company. This step is the latest chapter in a prolonged dispute over OpenAI's future in the world.

Musk sued OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, last year on charges that the company had deviated from its original mission namely developing artificial intelligence for the benefit of mankind, not for the benefit of corporations. OpenAI and Altman have denied the allegations.

In a legal document submitted to federal court on Friday 11 April, the former employees who claimed to have served in technical and leadership positions at OpenAI stated that the lifting of the role of non-profit organization oversight of profit-oriented AI development entities would "fundamentally violate" OpenAI's mission.

They emphasized that during their tenure, OpenAI executives consistently emphasized the importance of the structure, both for mission sustainability and in the recruitment process. Many employees, they said, joined OpenAI because they were inspired by the non-profit mission.

However, OpenAI presented different arguments. According to the company, revocation of control from non-profit entities is needed to secure funding from investors. The company explains that non-profit entities will still have ownership in OpenAI, whose value will increase as the company grows. Thus, the entity will actually acquire greater resources to carry out its mission.

"Our board has stated very clearly: our nonprofit organization is not going anywhere and our mission remains the same," reads an official statement from OpenAI.

Musk and Altman both founded OpenAI in 2015, but Musk left the company before OpenAI emerged into one of the great powers in the world of technology. Musk's disagreement over structure change sparked a lawsuit, which is planned to be heard before a jury next spring.

In response to AI developments, Musk also founded his own AI company, xAI, in 2023. Altman alleges that Musk's attempt to sue OpenAI aims to slow down the progress of competitors.

On the other hand, OpenAI is under pressure from investors. To secure a 40 billion US dollar funding round, the company must complete its organizational structure transition by the end of this year.