The press is fairly salivating over the prospect of two tech-bro billionaires facing off agaist each other in court in California. It involves betrayal, deceit and unbridled ambition. And lots and lots of money.
Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman used to be best buddies. Musk actually bankrolled much of OpenAI's early research in the heady days of 2015, back when it was an idealistic not-for-profit looking to save AI (and the world) from the rapacious designs of the less caring technology companies that were starting to emerge.
It soon became apparent, though, that a lot of money could be on the table for Altman and OpenAI, as the company's ChatGPT became the world's go-to AI platform, and Altman's altruistic vision wobbled. The company converted to a for-profit corporation last year, and is now valued at nearly a trillion dollars. Altman, OpenAI president Greg Brockman, and many others in the organization have become very rich indeed. (Altman's own fortune is estimated to be around $3 billion.)
Musk, the world's richest man, whose own net worth is heading inexorably toward the trillion dollar mark, has accused Altman and Brockman of double-crossing him, and of abandoning the company's founding vision of "an altruistic steward of a revolutionary technology". The picture of Musk, not known for altruism himself, taking the moral high ground is a confounding one. Plus, Musk now has his own AI company, xAI.
It's not going too well for Musk thus far. He has abandoned his original bid for $100 billion in damages after a series of pre-trial.rulings went against him. He is now seeking an unspecified amount of money to be paid into the charitable arm of Open AI (which still exists). He is also looking to oust Altman from OpenAI's board because, after all, this is personal.
The trial is expected to provide some riveting theatre as the two larger-than-life characters face off. As US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers says, "Part of this is about whether a jury believes the people who will testify and whether they are credible". In his opening remarks, Musk laid out his views: "The fate of civilization is at stake". Altman, for his part, gushed about Musk: "You're my hero". Yikes!
Musk has other ongoing legal challenges too: he was recently held liable by another jury for defrauding investors during his $44 billion takeover of Twitter in 2022. Altman and OpenAI are also being sued by residents of Tumbler Ridge, BC, after a mass shooting that they claim should have been prevented by OpenAI. It's a messy old (new) world out there.
Maybe we shouldn't really care that two such uncongenial figures are having at each other like slightly grubby quondam titans. But it is hard to look away.
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