The US government was asked to stop OpenAI from becoming a for-profit company
The Case Against OpenAI: Musk v. Zilis (N.D. Cal.) via AI Research + Hardware for-Profit (starting 2018) 3. Government (when:??)
Later, around the time Musk was working to acquire Twitter, he texted Altman that he was “disturbed” to see the company’s new $20 billion valuation. “De facto. I provided almost all the seed, A and most of B round funding,” he wrote, according to the disclosed texts. This is a switch and a bait.
The blog also highlights Musk’s attempts to maneuver into the CEO position and gain majority control of the company (though it adds that on one call Musk said he “didn’t care about equity” but “just needed to accumulate $80B for a city on Mars”). Musk also proposed that OpenAI spin into Tesla, which has been previously revealed. When the negotiations fell apart because OpenAI’s cofounders rejected his proposal (Brockman and Sutskever admitted they had fears of a power struggle), Musk resigned from the company.
Brockman was reported to have told Zilis in July last year that a non-profit was definitely the right structure for early on but might not be the right one now. Brockman wrote to Musk in the month of July saying that there should be two paths to openai. AI research + hardware for-profit (starting 2018) 3. Government project (when: ??).”
We understand that Elon Musk and Shivon Zilis are currently seeking to represent the public interests in Musk v. Altman, No. 4:24-cv-04722-YGR (N.D. Cal.). Although we would like to see your office take action, we think Mr. Musk and Ms. Zilis are well positioned to represent the interests of Californians. They played an early role in OpenAI’s creation and operations and are the ones who are in charge of understanding how OpenAI deviated from its charitable mission.
The conduct of OpenAI may have implications for Silicon Valley. If permitted, OpenAI’s restructuring would represent a paradigm shift for technology startups; allowing this restructuring would only entice investors to launch organizations as non-profits, collect hundreds of millions of dollars in tax-free donations to support research and development, and then assume for-profit status as its technology becomes commercially viable.
Seeing no clear path in the public sector, and given the success of other ambitious projects in private industry, [OpenAI] decided to pursue this project through private means bound by strong commitments to the public good. Openai initially believed a 501(c)(3) would be the most effective way to direct the development of safe and beneficial AGI, while remaining uncorrupted by profit incentives.
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986 states that a nonprofit corporation should be organized for charitable and educational purposes only. The purpose of this corporation is to provide funding for the development and use of technology related to artificial intelligence… The corporation is not set up for the benefit of a single person. The property of this corporation is irrevocably dedicated to the[se] purposes… and no part of the net income or assets of this corporation shall ever inure to the benefit of any director, officer or member thereof or to the benefit of any private person.