OpenAI Faces Legal Battles with Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Others Over Chatbot AI

OpenAI, a startup aiming to commercialize its ChatGPT chatbot and underlying artificial intelligence models, is currently entangled in legal disputes. These include a lawsuit from Tesla CEO Elon Musk and cases over copyright infringement from the New York Times and authors.

OpenAI Challenges Musk's Claims

In response to Elon Musk's complaint, OpenAI has challenged a foundational claim that Musk made in the lawsuit filed against the startup earlier this month. Musk had referred to a 2015 "founding agreement" with him and two other OpenAI co-founders, Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, claiming breach of contract at the startup that he backed.

However, OpenAI has stated that there is no Founding Agreement or any agreement at all with Musk, as the complaint itself makes clear. The startup categorically denies the existence of the agreement Musk referred to, dismissing it as a fiction conjured by Musk to lay unearned claim to the fruits of the enterprise.

OpenAI's Response to Musk's Complaint

OpenAI reacted to Musk's complaint last week by deriding it in a memo to employees and releasing emails involving him that go back to its earliest days. The startup has also called Musk's claims frivolous and is seeking to have the case designated as complex due to its involvement with AI and its claims going back almost 10 years.

Musk's Allegations

Musk's complaint also mentioned OpenAI's 2017 plan to establish a for-profit organization. He claimed that he had advised the co-founders to either establish a for-profit organization or continue with OpenAI as a nonprofit. However, OpenAI has countered this by asserting that if the case were to go to discovery, evidence would show that Musk was on board with the startup gaining a for-profit structure.

OpenAI's Accusations

OpenAI has accused Musk of bringing the action to benefit a competitor to OpenAI, citing that Musk's own AI lab, X.AI, has released a chatbot called Grok. The startup has suggested that Musk is seeking to replicate the success OpenAI has achieved with ChatGPT for himself.

Further Developments

Musk has announced that his startup will release Grok's code under an open-source license in the coming week. Additionally, OpenAI's ChatGPT had 100 million weekly users as of November, showcasing the remarkable technological advances it has achieved.

As the legal battle continues, the involvement of high-profile figures like Elon Musk and the implications for the future of AI commercialization remain a topic of interest for many.