On Monday, former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever told a California courtroom he spent about a year compiling evidence that CEO Sam Altman had repeatedly been dishonest.
He said those concerns ultimately drove the board’s decision to oust Altman in November 2023.
Sutskever Says OpenAI Board Gathered Extensive Evidence Against Altman
During testimony in Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI, Sutskever said he prepared a 52-page document for the board detailing what he described as Altman’s “consistent pattern of lying,” Reuters reported.
According to Sutskever, Altman’s behavior included “undermining and pitting executives against one another,” conduct he argued was “not conducive to any grand goal,” including OpenAI’s mission of safely developing artificial general intelligence.
Sutskever testified that discussions about potentially removing Altman had been ongoing for at least a year and included then-Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati.
Sutskever played a central role in Altman’s abrupt firing, then later reversed course and supported his reinstatement amid intense employee backlash and investor pressure.
Musk Lawsuit Puts OpenAI’s Future Under Scrutiny
Musk, who co-founded OpenAI but left in 2018, alleges the company abandoned its nonprofit mission in favor of profit and investor enrichment, particularly through its close relationship with Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Sutskever also confirmed that after Altman’s brief ouster, OpenAI board members explored a potential merger with rival Anthropic.
Meanwhile, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified that the tech giant’s investment in OpenAI was a “calculated risk.”
Previously, during the trial, OpenAI president Greg Brockman said his OpenAI stake is worth nearly $30 billion and disclosed additional financial ties to Altman.
Closing arguments are expected on Thursday.
Price Action: Microsoft shares closed Monday at $412.66, down 0.58% and slipped another 0.21% to $411.80 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro.
According to Benzinga Edge Rankings, Microsoft ranks in the 92nd percentile for quality, with a positive short-term price trend despite weaker medium and long-term price trends.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo Courtesy: Meir Chaimowitz on Shutterstock.com
Recent Comments