OpenAI President Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Past Remarks
OAKLAND, Calif. — OpenAI President Greg Brockman found himself in a tough spot on Monday as Elon Musk’s lawyers highlighted some questionable diary entries he wrote nearly a decade ago. Interestingly, these entries reveal Brockman’s thoughts about becoming a billionaire, despite the fact that Musk had donated millions to the nonprofit around that same time.
In a 2017 entry, Brockman pondered, “How do we get to $1 billion financially?” He even considered the possibility of transitioning OpenAI into a commercial entity. He wrote, “I’ve been wondering if I should make the switch to make a profit. It sounds like a great idea to make money for us.”
Though he was evaluating this lucrative idea, Brockman also voiced some serious concerns about the implications of such a change. According to court documents, he remarked, “I can’t imagine converting this into a commercial venture without a very bad fight. It would be wrong to steal a nonprofit from him. It would be pretty morally bankrupt.”
Brockman, in a testimony, referenced Musk, suggesting, “He’s really not an idiot. His story would be that we ultimately weren’t honest with him about the fact that we still wanted to run a commercial business without him.” He mentioned that his stock in OpenAI is now valued at nearly $30 billion.
Musk’s attorney, Stephen Moro, criticized Brockman for his diary entries, which were first disclosed in court documents in January. Moro challenged Brockman on his claims that all business decisions align with OpenAI’s human-benefiting mission. At one point, his voice escalated as he asked, “Were you worried about what would make me a billion dollars?”
Brockman, appearing somewhat anxious and on edge, maintained that his desire to turn OpenAI for-profit was primarily mission-driven, with personal financial gains being a secondary consideration. “We all agreed to form a for-profit company,” he stated. “There was a fork in the road. We either accept Elon’s terms or we compete with him.”
This back-and-forth became heated, prompting U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to describe Moro’s questioning as “argumentative.” In the courtroom, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman observed closely, giving Brockman a serious glance as he left during a break.
The exchanges intensified just a day after new court filings indicated that Musk was putting pressure on OpenAI’s leadership to settle before the legal battle began. Brockman cautioned that both Musk and Altman could end up being “the most hated men in America.”
According to OpenAI’s legal filing, Musk had sent a message to Brockman just two days before the trial commenced, attempting to “gauge interest in a settlement.” When Brockman suggested both parties drop their claims, Musk replied, “By the end of this week, you and Sam will be the most hated men in America. If you insist, you will be.”
Musk is pursuing $180 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft. He asserts they have violated their nonprofit mission and wants to reinstate OpenAI’s nonprofit status while also seeking the removal of Altman and Brockman from leadership. In a dramatic moment in court, Musk confessed he felt like a “fool” for trusting Altman with OpenAI’s direction. “I was a fool for giving them free money to build a startup,” Musk lamented, referring to the $38 million he contributed that led to the creation of what eventually became an $800 billion company.
The trial has included testimonies from notable figures in AI, including Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. Some skepticism was expressed by Judge Rogers, but Musk’s team called upon AI safety researcher Stuart Russell, who, interestingly, suggested she might disengage if the questioning continued longer than half an hour.
She discussed serious concerns like “AI psychosis,” where users’ delusions might be amplified by AI systems, and warned about potential “winner-takes-all” scenarios, implying that companies could overpower governments.
During cross-examination, OpenAI’s legal team pointed out that Musk’s team had compensated Russell $235,000 for just over an hour of her testimony.
