Recently, OpenAI announced it’s restructuring to turn its for-profit side into a Delaware public benefit corporation, but the transition to for-profit hasn’t been without pushback, especially from Musk.
Now, Encode, a nonprofit focused on AI safety, is jumping in to oppose the transition. They’re the same group that backed California’s SB 1047 AI safety bill, which aimed to regulate AI. Despite support from Musk, Geoffrey Hinton, and even actor Mark Ruffalo, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the bill on September 29, 2024.
In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Encode stated:
OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, claim to be developing society-transforming technology, and those claims should be taken seriously. OpenAI Inc.’s charitable mission is to develop and deploy that transformative technology in a way that is safe and beneficial to the public, and OpenAI’s proposed restructuring into a for-profit enterprise would undermine that commitment.
If the world truly is at the cusp of a new age of artificial general intelligence (AGI), then the public has a profound interest in having that technology controlled by a public charity legally bound to prioritize safety and the public benefit rather than an organization focused on generating financial returns for a few privileged investors.
This legal tussle adds fuel to the ongoing spat between Altman and Musk. Altman has accused Musk of being a bully who enjoys picking fights.
But the opposition doesn't end there. Meta recently asked the California Attorney General to block OpenAI’s move to go for-profit, saying it could set a risky precedent for other startups.
Back in October, it was reported that OpenAI secured a $6.6 billion funding round, valuing the company at $157 billion. This funding is crucial, as they acknowledge needing "more capital than we'd imagined" to develop advanced AI technologies.
In other news, OpenAI has introduced new AI models. CEO Sam Altman revealed plans to launch the o3 mini model by the end of January 2025, followed by the full o3 model later on.
Image via Depositphotos.com
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