The China Mail - Musk faces off with OpenAI in court over broken promises

The legal clash across the bay from San Francisco pits the world's richest person against a startup Musk once backed and now competes with in the booming AI sector.

Musk appeared at the federal court in Oakland, seen passing through metal detectors, ahead of opening arguments for a trial that could have far-reaching consequences for the future of the AI industry if the Tesla tycoon prevails.

OpenAI's chief executive, Sam Altman -- once a Musk partner and now widely seen as his nemesis -- was also seen entering the building.

The ChatGPT-maker is a formidable rival to the chatbot Grok, made by Musk's xAI lab.

OpenAI co-founders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman "are confident in their position and look forward to the facts being known," their attorney, William Savitt, said outside the courthouse after jurors were selected Monday.

While Musk's lawsuit is part of a feud between him and Altman, it spotlights a debate over whether AI should ultimately serve to benefit a privileged few or society as a whole.

Court filings lay out how Altman convinced Musk to back OpenAI in 2015, acting as a co-founder for a non-profit lab whose technology "would belong to the world."

Musk pumped millions of dollars into the group, which he subsequently left.

OpenAI established a commercial subsidiary as it needed hundreds of billions of dollars for data centers to power its technology.

Musk argues in his lawsuit that he was deceived about OpenAI's mission being altruistic.

He is expected to testify in the trial, possibly as early as Tuesday.

- OpenAI slams 'harassment campaign' -

In a social media post on Monday, Musk derisively called the OpenAI chief "Scam Altman."

San Francisco-based OpenAI has countered in court filings that its break-up with Musk was due to the Tesla tycoon's quest for absolute control rather than its nonprofit status.

"His lawsuit remains nothing more than a harassment campaign that's driven by ego, jealousy and a desire to slow down a competitor," OpenAI said of Musk in a recent X post.

The judge presiding over the trial will decide by late May -- guided by an advisory jury's findings -- whether OpenAI broke a promise to Musk in a drive to lead in AI or just smartly rode the technology to glory.

Along with calling for OpenAI to be forced to revert to a pure nonprofit, Musk's suit urges the ouster of co-founders Altman and Brockman, who is the startup's president.

Musk, who had sought as much as $134 billion in damages, has since renounced any personal benefit, pledging to redirect any award to the OpenAI nonprofit.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has reserved the right to determine any remedies herself, without the jury's input.

OpenAI now has a hybrid governance structure giving its nonprofit foundation control over a for-profit arm.

C.Fong--ThChM