OpenAI on Tuesday hit back at Elon Musk’s claims that the startup abandoned its original mission with emails that showed the billionaire supported its plan to create a for-profit entity and wanted a merger that would make Tesla its “cash cow.”

Musk, one of the co-founders of OpenAI, filed a lawsuit last week, alleging the startup breached their founding agreement to develop artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity, rather than for profit, by partnering with Microsoft.

“As we discussed a for-profit structure in order to further the mission, Elon wanted us to merge with Tesla or he wanted full control,” OpenAI said, adding that “we couldn’t agree to terms on a for-profit with Elon because we felt it was against the mission for any individual to have absolute control over OpenAI.”

“In early February 2018, Elon forwarded us an email suggesting that OpenAI should ‘attach to Tesla as its cash cow,’ commenting that it was ‘exactly right … Tesla is the only path that could even hope to hold a candle to Google.’”

    • ChicoSuave@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I don’t remember where but I heard another oligarch say that Elon wants to save the world but only if he’s the person who gets to save it.

      Like a child, he will smother and destroy anything he that upsets him.

      • CluckN@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        There was a Last Week Tonight episode about him where they grabbed that quote (New York Times?).

      • Zier@fedia.io
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        4 months ago

        The very first time I heard his name, I thought it was a fictional overlord from a scifi movie. He is the evil dictator of the future (in hollywood movies).