By Greg Bensinger and Juby Babu
SAN FRANCISCO, May 6 (Reuters) – A former technology chief for OpenAI testified in a video on Wednesday that CEO Sam Altman sowed distrust among top executives and persistent chaos as the company forged ahead with developing and broadly deploying its powerful artificial intelligence software.
“My concern was about Sam saying one thing to one person and completely the opposite to another person,” said Mira Murati, who was briefly CEO of OpenAI herself after Altman was temporarily forced out by the board of directors. Altman, she said in recorded testimony in federal court in Oakland, California, was “creating chaos” and, at times, was deceptive with her and others.
Murati’s testimony came during the second week in court after billionaire Elon Musk sued OpenAI in 2024 on the grounds that it improperly became a for-profit company, abandoned charitable goals and should turn back into a nonprofit. If successful, Musk could benefit by hindering the commercial ambitions of a competitor to his own startup xAI, which is now part of SpaceX
MUSK SEEKING $150 BILLION IN DAMAGES
The trial could determine the future of OpenAI, which, as a leading AI firm, has tremendous influence over development of the advanced software and its deployment into schools, government agencies and businesses. Musk, a co-founder of OpenAI, is seeking $150 billion in damages to be paid by OpenAI and investor Microsoft to benefit the startup’s charitable arm.
Murati affirmed under questioning that Altman pitted executives against one another and undermined her in her role as technology chief. But, she said, she wished him to continue as CEO and pressed board members for a fuller explanation of why they had ousted Altman in November 2023.
“OpenAI was at catastrophic risk of falling apart,” said Murati, who has since left OpenAI and co-founded her own AI startup. “I was concerned about the company completely blowing up.”
After nearly two weeks of trial, testimony from Musk, OpenAI President Greg Brockman and others has sketched out a series of conflicts among senior executives and founders about how to drive and support growth of the ChatGPT maker and whether Musk, whose early funding was crucial to launch the startup, should become CEO.
The proceedings have also brought to light some surprising details. Musk, for instance, attempted to settle with Brockman days before the trial began; and Musk, the world’s richest man, said he felt at one point like “a fool” for his continued funding of OpenAI.
(Reporting by Greg Bensinger; editing by Peter Henderson, Rod Nickel)
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