Musk vs. Altman
5/15/202623 min
The blockbuster lawsuit between OpenAI co-founders Elon Musk and Sam Altman has wrapped up. The three-week trial has exposed some of the inner workings and personal feuds behind Silicon Valley’s artificial intelligence boom. WSJ’s Angel Au-Yeung explains what happened during the trial and what the verdict could mean for the future of AI. Hosted by Jessica Mendoza. Further Listening: - The Unraveling of OpenAI and Microsoft’s Bromance
- A Data Center Revolt in MissouriSign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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First 90 secondsJessica Mendoza· Host0:00
[music] It was a busy few weeks at the US courthouse in Oakland, California, the venue for a high-stakes trial over one of the biggest names in artificial intelligence, OpenAI. A crowd of people gathered outside every day, many of them hoping to watch the contentious trial, including our colleague, Angel Au Young.
Angel Au-Yeung· Guest0:27
The mornings, there's usually a line outside the courthouse starting at 5:45 AM.
Jessica Mendoza· Host0:33
The two people on opposite sides of the trial, Elon Musk and Sam Altman, two of the co-founders of OpenAI. In fact, the lawsuit itself is called Musk v. Altman.
Angel Au-Yeung· Guest0:46
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI for basically manipulating him into giving tens of millions of dollars to OpenAI.
Jessica Mendoza· Host0:56
[music] Musk's initial funding helped get OpenAI off the ground, and essentially, he says, OpenAI and Sam Altman as its leader, misused those donations because the company abandoned its original mission of building AI for the good of humanity. And as the trial has unfolded over the past three weeks, a who's who of Silicon Valley have filed into the courthouse, headed for the witness stand.
Angel Au-Yeung· Guest1:23
As soon as they come into the security, all these photographers and videographers just start clamoring up