A group of former OpenAI employees is calling on the attorneys general of California and Delaware to prevent the company from transitioning from a nonprofit to a for-profit company, citing concerns over the control and accountability of its powerful AI technology.
AP News reports that in a move that has raised eyebrows within the AI community, a coalition of former OpenAI employees, backed by three Nobel Prize winners and other experts, has sent a letter to the attorneys general of California and Delaware, urging them to block the company’s planned restructuring. The group, which includes ex-policy advisers and engineers, is worried that OpenAI’s shift from a nonprofit charity to a for-profit business could have serious implications for the control and safety of its AI technology, particularly if the company succeeds in developing artificial general intelligence (AGI) that surpasses human capabilities.
Page Hedley, a former policy and ethics adviser at OpenAI, expressed her concern in an interview with the Associated Press, stating, “Ultimately, I’m worried about who owns and controls this technology once it’s created.” The letter, sent to California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings (D), calls on the officials to use their authority to protect OpenAI’s charitable mission and prevent the restructuring.
OpenAI, incorporated in Delaware and operating out of San Francisco, has responded to the letter, asserting that any changes to its existing structure would be in service of ensuring that the broader public can benefit from AI. The company has stated that its for-profit arm will be a public benefit corporation, similar to other AI labs like Anthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI, while preserving a nonprofit arm to ensure the mission is achieved as the for-profit grows.
This letter marks the second petition to state officials this month, following one from labor leaders and nonprofits focused on protecting OpenAI’s billions of dollars in charitable assets. Attorney General Jennings has previously stated that she would review any such transaction to ensure the public’s interests are adequately protected, while Attorney General Bonta’s office has sought more information from OpenAI but cannot comment on ongoing investigations.
OpenAI, co-founded by current CEO Sam Altman and Elon Musk, originally started as a nonprofit research laboratory with the mission to safely build AGI for humanity’s benefit. Nearly a decade later, the company has reported a market value of $300 billion and boasts 400 million weekly users of its flagship product, ChatGPT. However, the transition to a for-profit entity has been met with challenges, including a lawsuit from Musk, who accuses the company and Altman of betraying the founding principles that led him to invest in the charity.
As Breitbart News previously reported, Musk also made an offer to buy OpenAI, which Sam Altman dismissed as a ploy to “slow us down.”
Speaking at the Paris AI summit, Altman suggested the move was designed to impede OpenAI’s progress rather than represent a serious purchase attempt.
“I think he is probably just trying to slow us down,” Altman told Bloomberg Television on Tuesday, noting Musk’s position as a competitor in the AI space. “I wish he would just compete by building a better product, but I think there’s been a lot of tactics, many lawsuits, all sorts of other crazy stuff, and now this.”
The takeover bid arrives at a crucial juncture for OpenAI, which is currently finalizing a major fundraising round that could value the company at $300 billion. The company is also navigating a complex transition from its nonprofit origins to a for-profit structure, a move that requires careful consideration of its charitable mission and investor interests — and is the subject of a lawsuit filed by Musk.
The signatories of the letter include two Nobel-winning economists, Oliver Hart and Joseph Stiglitz, as well as legendary “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton, winner of last year’s Nobel Prize in physics, and Stuart Russell. Hinton expressed his support for OpenAI’s mission to ensure that AGI benefits all of humanity and his hope that the company will execute that mission instead of focusing on enriching investors.
The AP contributed to this report.
Read more at AP News here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
