AI Pioneer Geoffrey Hinton Backs Elon Musk in Legal Battle Against OpenAI's For-Profit Transition

Elon Musk Gets Support From 'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton In Battle Against OpenAI - Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META)

Musk recently gained support from Geoffrey Hinton in the battle. A battle between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over the new course of OpenAI was one of the bigger stories for 2024 in the artificial intelligence sector. With the case far from closed, the well-known "Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton is weighing in and taking sides. What Happened: A push by OpenAI to turn into a for-profit structure from a current nonprofit has prompted a legal attempt by Musk to block the change. Musk, who is an original co-founder and investor in OpenAI, has spoken out about the planned for-profit change and is now gaining support from one of the biggest names in the AI sector. "OpenAI was founded as an explicitly safety-focused nonprofit and made a variety of safety-related promises in its charter," Hinton said in a statement Monday published by youth-led advocacy group Encode. Hinton said OpenAI received benefits like tax breaks thanks to its nonprofit status. "Allowing it to tear all of that up when it becomes inconvenient sends a very bad message to other actors in the ecosystem," Hinton said, as reported by the New York Post. Hinton, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in October, has spoken out against OpenAI in the past. In October, Hinton said Altman is "much less concerned with safety than with profits." Hinton has also expressed regrets for his role in helping develop AI, which could now be used for negative items. You may not be a billionaire like Mark Cuban, but you can uncover hidden gems in the stock market using our proprietary data and pattern recognition -- check out five stocks flying under the radar that deserve your attention. Why It's Important: Founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, OpenAI has become one of the largest companies by valuation in the space. The company created a capped-profit model in 2019 with the nonprofit holding control of the entire company. The company has said that switching to a for-profit model will help "to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in the space." The lawsuit by Musk comes as he cut his relationship with OpenAI in 2018 and his lawsuit attempts come as he recently launched his own AI company xAI, a competitor to the company he co-founded. Musk said that OpenAI executives "deceived" him in the past. OpenAI countered recently by saying Musk wanted a for-profit structure for the company in 2017. The billionaire's lawsuit was first filed in early 2023 related to OpenAI's partnership with Microsoft Corp. MSFT, which he alleged broke the company's nonprofit commitment. Altman recently showed appreciation for what Musk did to help support OpenAI "in the early days," but shared new criticism of the billionaire. "He's also clearly a bully and he's also someone who clearly likes to get in fights. Now it's me, it's been Bezos, Gates, Zuckerberg lots of other people," Altman said. In the battle against OpenAI, Musk has now gained recent support from Meta Platforms Inc META and the "Godfather of AI," which could make the fight against Altman and OpenAI a must-watch story in 2025. Read Next: Terminator In Real Life? AI 'Godfather' Warns Of Human 'Wipe Out' In 5 To 20 Years Photo: DIA TV via Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

'Godfather of artificial intelligence' Geoffrey Hinton backs Elon...

Geoffrey Hinton, the prominent data scientist known as the "Godfather of artificial intelligence," is backing Elon Musk in his legal attempt to block OpenAI from switching to a for-profit company. Hinton, who won the 2024 Nobel Prize in physics in October, is known for his work developing artificial neural networks, the foundation for AI. "OpenAI was founded as an explicitly safety-focused non-profit and made a variety of safety related promises in its charter," Hinton said in a statement published on Monday by Encode, a youth-led advocacy group for human-centered AI, which promotes using AI to improve human abilities instead of replacing them. "It received numerous tax and other benefits from its non-profit status," Hinton added. "Allowing it to tear all of that up when it becomes inconvenient sends a very bad message to other actors in the ecosystem." OpenAI was initially created as a nonprofit research lab in 2015 by chief executive Sam Altman, Musk and others. In 2019, OpenAI aimed to act more like a startup, so it created a capped-profit model with the nonprofit still controlling the whole company. But now it is seeking out a more traditional for-profit structure that will enable the company "to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space," OpenAI said in a blog post last week. Co-founder Musk, who cut ties with OpenAI in 2018, is seeking to block the firm's structure switch. On Monday, Encode said it had filed an amicus brief - a legal document providing input on a court case from a group that is not directly involved - in support of the lawsuit against OpenAI's for-profit move. "The restructuring would fundamentally undermine OpenAI's commitment to prioritize public safety," Encode wrote in a press release. "The nonprofit-controlled structure that OpenAI currently operates under provides essential governance guardrails that would be forfeited if control were transferred to a for-profit entity," Encode added. Hinton, who worked at Google for more than a decade, has criticized OpenAI's safety measures before. During a press conference in October, Hinton said Altman is "much less concerned with safety than with profits," calling the situation "unfortunate". Last year, after leaving Google, Hinton sounded the alarms on the potential damage AI could wreak on humanity, telling The New York Times he regretted his role in developing the technology. Musk, meanwhile, is arguing that OpenAI executives "deceived" him into co-founding the company by playing into his concerns about the risks of AI. OpenAI said that Musk wanted the company to transform into a for-profit structure back in 2017. In February, he filed a lawsuit against OpenAI accusing it of breaking its nonprofit commitment by partnering with Microsoft. He withdrew the lawsuit in June, but refiled it in August. Musk's own startup, xAI, is a public benefit corporation, which is a for-profit company with social and environmental goals. It's the same structure OpenAI is looking to create, the company said last week.

Godfather of AI Throws Support Behind Elon Musk's Lawsuit Against OpenAI

The youth advocacy group Encode is supporting Musk's lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction that would stop OpenAI from becoming fully for-profit. An increasingly diverse coalition is forming in opposition to OpenAI's plan to restructure itself into a fully for-profit company. On Monday, Encode, a youth-led advocacy organization representing young people in dozens of countries, filed an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk's ongoing lawsuit to stop OpenAI's corporate metamorphosis. The filing came with support from one of the biggest names in the field, Nobel and Turing prizes award-winner Geoffrey Hinton, who is often called the godfather of AI. "OpenAI was founded as an explicitly safety-focused non-profit and made a variety of safety-related promises in its charter," Hinton said in a statement released by Encode along with its brief. "It received numerous tax and other benefits from its non-profit status. Allowing it to tear all of that up when it becomes inconvenient sends a very bad message to other actors in the ecosystem." Hinton recently told the BBC he believes there is a "10 percent to 20 percent" chance that AI will lead to human extinction within the next 30 years. Previously, Hinton's been more modest, putting the odds at just 10 percent. OpenAI is currently structured as a for-profit company controlled by a non-profit board, which places some restrictions on its mission and ability to raise money and compensate investors. The company formally announced its intention to restructure itself as a more traditional for-profit corporation last week, although the change had been anticipated for some time and Musk, who was a cofounder of OpenAI, filed his federal lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to stop it in November. Encode argues that OpenAI's planned shift from a nonprofit to a Delaware public benefit corporation would "undermine specific safety-focused commitments the nonprofit has made to the public." In particular, the brief questions whether a for-profit corporation could ever fulfill OpenAI's promise that it will "stop competing with and start assisting" any value-aligned organization that appears close to building artificial general intelligence before it does. “Today, a handful of companies are racing to develop and deploy transformative AI, internalizing the profits but externalizing the consequences to all of humanity,†Sneha Revanur, the president and founder of Encode, said in a statement. “The courts must intervene to ensure AI development serves the public interest.†For its part, OpenAI has urged the court to reject Musk's lawsuit, arguing that he lacks standing and is seeking to gain an unfair competitive advantage for his own AI startup, xAI. OpenAI also released a trove of emails and other messages from Musk, including several that the company said showed Musk advocated for converting the organization to a for-profit as early as 2017.

Encode and the 'Godfather of AI' join Elon Musk's bid to block OpenAI's for-profit switch - SiliconANGLE

Encode and the 'Godfather of AI' join Elon Musk's bid to block OpenAI's for-profit switch Encode, a nonprofit organization that co-sponsored California's failed SB 1047 AI safety legislation, is joining forces with Elon Musk to oppose OpenAI's plan to repivot as a fully for-profit company. The youth-led advocacy group that represents people in dozens of countries said today it's filing an amicus brief in support of SpaceX Corp. and Tesla Inc. founder Musk's ongoing lawsuit, which aims to prevent OpenAI's metamorphosis. The filing is supported by one of the most prominent individuals in the artificial intelligence industry, the Nobel and Turing prize-winner Geoffrey Hinton (pictured), who is often referred to as the "Godfather of AI". In its brief, Encode argues that OpenAI's restructuring would undermine its longheld commitment to prioritize public safety when developing advanced AI systems. It adds that OpenAI's status as a nonprofit provides "essential governance guardrails" that would effectively be eliminated if the company were to transition to a for-profit entity. Instead of being committed to prioritize the interests of humanity, it says it would be legally compelled to balance public benefit with the interests of its investors. "OpenAI was founded as an explicitly safety-focused non-profit and made a variety of safety-related promises in its charter," Hinton said in a statement. "It received numerous tax and other benefits from its non-profit status. Allowing it to tear all of that up when it becomes inconvenient sends a very bad message to other actors in the ecosystem." Hinton recently told BBC Radio 4 that he thinks there is a "10% to 20% chance" that AI could cause the extinction of humanity within the next 30 years, in what appears to be an effort to remind the industry of the need for safeguards when developing the technology. OpenAI's current legal structure, as a for-profit company controlled by a nonprofit board of directors, places restrictions on its mission and hinders its ability to raise funding and compensate investors for backing it. It formally announced its intention to restructure itself as a traditional for-profit corporation last week, though its plans to do so had been known for some time already. Musk was one of the first to anticipate OpenAI's move and filed a preliminary injunction that aims to stop it from doing so in November. He has since garnered support from Meta Platforms Inc. and its founder Mark Zuckerberg. Last month, Meta wrote in a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta that allowing OpenAI to transform itself would "set a dangerous precedent" that would have "seismic implications" for the technology industry. In its brief, Encode questions whether a for-profit company would be able to fulfill OpenAI's pledge to "stop competing with and start assisting" any value-aligned organizations that appear close to building "artificial general intelligence" before it does so itself. "Today, a handful of companies are racing to develop and deploy transformative AI, internalizing the profits but externalizing the consequences to all of humanity," said Encode's founder and president Sneha Revanur. "The courts must intervene to ensure AI development serves the public interest." OpenAI has urged the court to reject Musk's lawsuit, and has argued that he "lacks standing" and is only seeking to gain a competitive advantage for his own AI startup, xAI Corp. To back up its claims, OpenAI released a trove of email communications between Musk and its senior executives and founders, demonstrating that Musk himself advocated for the company to become a for-profit organization as early as 2017.

Elon Musk vs OpenAI's Sam Altman, one of the biggest lawsuits in U.S history, gets backing from the 'godfather' of AI; here's what he said

In a latest and huge development it has been known that Tesla CEO Elon Musk has got backing from someone who is known as the Godfather of AI regarding his one of the biggest lawsuits in US history against the CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman.In a pretty recent statement, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton actually criticized OpenAI for its shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit model while arguing that it undermines the original safety-focused mission of the organization, reported Business Insider. According to Business Insider, Geoffrey Hinton, who eventually won the Nobel Prize in the year 2024 in Physics and is known as the 'godfather of AI' actually expressed concerns about OpenAI abandoning its commitments made when it was founded as a nonprofit in the year 2015. He also emphasized on the fact that this transition sends a negative message to other organizations in the AI ecosystem. The remarks of Geoffrey Hinton come amidst the legal efforts of Tesla CEO Elon Musk to block OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity which he claims violates its nonprofit mission. Elon Musk's lawsuit actually alleges that he was misled into co-founding OpenAI based on concerns about AI risks, asserted Business Insider. Meanwhile, OpenAI has announced plans to restructure as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) while allowing it to attract more investment while maintaining some public benefit focus. Adding onto that, Adam Billen from Encode which is an advocacy group supporting the position of Tesla CEO Elon Musk echoed the concerns of Geoffrey Hinton while stating that public involvement is crucial in shaping the huge future of AI, noted Business Insider. In a pretty recent statement, AI pioneer Geoffrey Hinton actually criticized OpenAI for its shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit model while arguing that it undermines the original safety-focused mission of the organization. OpenAI has announced plans to restructure as a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) while allowing it to attract more investment while maintaining some public benefit focus.

Elon Musk gets new support in growing lawsuit against OpenAI

The billionaire is attempting to block the ChatGPT maker's transition into a for-profit company. His own start-up xAI competes with OpenAI. Tech mogul Elon Musk intensified his legal battle with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI in the days after Christmas. Court filings show two prominent tech investors lending support to the billionaire's allegations that the company unfairly blocked potential backers from investing in its rivals. The dispute between the world's richest person and one of the world's most valuable start-ups sets up a potential court battle over OpenAI's future. The artificial intelligence developer is trying to restructure itself to remove the oversight of its nonprofit board, freeing it to pursue profits more like a conventional tech company. Musk is asking a federal court in Northern California to block OpenAI from changing its structure, arguing that a nonprofit can't walk away from its original mandate backed by donors like himself. Musk helped found OpenAI in 2015 and was a major funder of the project before splitting with his co-founders in 2018 after attempting to take control of the project. The billionaire also wants OpenAI to be prohibited from forcing its investors to decline to support competing AI companies, such as his own AI start-up, xAI. Musk's company, which offers the chatbot Grok, announced $6 billion of new funding last week from investors including Morgan Stanley and an investment fund associated with the Saudi royal family. Also last week, progressive tech advocacy organization Encode filed a friend-of-the-court brief expressing support for Musk's claims against OpenAI. Encode's filing was backed by several AI researchers, including Geoffrey Hinton, a former Google researcher who shared a Nobel Prize this year for his work on AI. "OpenAI was founded as an explicitly safety-focused non-profit and made a variety of safety related promises in its charter," Hinton said in a statement released by Encode. "Allowing it to tear all of that up when it becomes inconvenient sends a very bad message to other actors in the ecosystem." On Monday, Kathy Jennings, the attorney general for Delaware, where OpenAI is incorporated, filed a brief in the case saying she was talking with the company about its plans and would step in if she believed it was breaking the law. Musk added new support from prominent tech investors to his legal assault on OpenAI in sworn declarations filed late last week by the entrepreneur and three allies. They alleged that OpenAI told potential investors this year that they could back the company only if they committed not to invest in rival AI developers, including Musk's AI start-up. Antonio Gracias, CEO of investment firm Valor Equity Partners, which has invested in xAI, said in a filing that it was widely known among investors that OpenAI had made withholding from investments in competitors a provision of its latest funding round. Gavin Baker, managing partner of hedge fund Atreides Management, which has invested in Musk ventures including electric automaker Tesla, said in his own declaration that the competitor investment ban was common knowledge among top tech investors. Gracias and Baker did not claim in the filings to have heard directly from OpenAI's leaders about the alleged condition placed on prospective investors in the company. Jared Birchall, chief financial officer of Musk's xAI and a longtime lieutenant to the billionaire, said in his own declaration filed with the court that an unspecified "reputable venture capital investor" told him of the restriction. Jason Deutrom, a spokesperson for OpenAI, declined to comment on whether the company had asked investors not to invest in competitors. The company has disputed Musk's claims in court filings. At the New York Times DealBook conference last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said OpenAI investors who also invested in competitors would be cut off from receiving special information on OpenAI's business. He said in an interview with the Free Press this past month that Musk was "clearly a bully." The battle between Musk and Altman, two of the tech world's most powerful men, erupted into public view last February. Musk sued OpenAI and Altman that month in state court in San Francisco. He alleged the company's leaders tricked him and others into supporting a company pledged to bettering humanity, but pivoted it into a for-profit enterprise. He later dropped the suit but filed a similar one in August in federal court in California. OpenAI announced in October that it had raised $6.6 billion in new investment funding, valuing the company at $157 billion. The following month, Musk widened his suit to also allege that OpenAI worked with its main backer, Microsoft, to unfairly squash competition in AI. Microsoft has denied the allegations in court filings. The stakes of the dispute have potentially been heightened by Musk's becoming one of President-elect Donald Trump's closest advisers, potentially giving him sway over AI regulations that would affect OpenAI and the rest of the industry.

Elon Musk's Legal Battle Against OpenAI's For-Profit Transition Joined By Non-Profit Encode

Enter your email to get Benzinga's ultimate morning update: The PreMarket Activity Newsletter Encode, a nonprofit organization, has joined forces with Elon Musk in a legal effort to prevent OpenAI from transitioning into a for-profit entity. This move comes as Encode files a request to submit an amicus brief in support of Musk's injunction. What Happened: Encode has aligned with Musk to oppose OpenAI's transition to a for-profit entity. Encode has filed a request to submit an amicus brief supporting Musk's injunction. The brief, submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, argues that OpenAI's shift would compromise its mission to develop transformative technology safely. Encode claims that OpenAI's conversion would prioritize financial returns over public safety and benefits. See Also: Microsoft Invested Nearly $14 Billion In OpenAI But Now It's Reducing Its Dependence On The ChatGPT-Parent OpenAI, originally a nonprofit, has evolved into a hybrid structure with a for-profit arm. It plans to transition into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, which has raised concerns among stakeholders. Musk, an early OpenAI contributor, filed a lawsuit in November to stop this change, accusing OpenAI of straying from its original mission. OpenAI has dismissed Musk's allegations as unfounded. Meanwhile, Meta Platforms Inc. has also expressed opposition, warning of significant impacts on Silicon Valley. Encode's brief highlights the potential risks of OpenAI's restructuring, emphasizing the need for a safety-focused nonprofit to maintain control over advanced AI developments. Why It Matters: The legal battle over OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model has significant implications for the future of artificial intelligence. OpenAI, backed by Microsoft Corp., outlined its plans to evolve into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation, aiming to balance shareholder and stakeholder interests while maintaining its mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence (AGI) benefits all humanity. The restructuring could result in a substantial financial gain for CEO Sam Altman, with a potential $10.5 billion payday as OpenAI seeks to attract more investors. This move has raised concerns among stakeholders, including Musk, who filed for a court injunction in December to block the transition, citing a deviation from OpenAI's original mission. Check out more of Benzinga's Consumer Tech coverage by following this link. Read Next: · Trump Asks Supreme Court to Delay TikTok Ban As He Pursues A 'Political Resolution' Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors. Photo courtesy: Shutterstock Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs

Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk's effort to block OpenAI's for-profit transition | TechCrunch

Encode, the nonprofit organization that co-sponsored California's ill-fated SB 1047 AI safety legislation, has requested permission to file an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk's injunction to halt OpenAI's transition to a for-profit company. In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday afternoon, counsel for Encode said that OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit would "undermine" the firm's mission to "develop and deploy ... transformative technology in a way that is safe and beneficial to the public." "OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, claim to be developing society-transforming technology, and those claims should be taken seriously," the brief read. "If the world truly is at the cusp of a new age of artificial general intelligence (AGI), then the public has a profound interest in having that technology controlled by a public charity legally bound to prioritize safety and the public benefit rather than an organization focused on generating financial returns for a few privileged investors." In a statement, Sneha Revanur, Encode's founder and president, accused OpenAI of "internalizing the profits [of AI] but externalizing the consequences to all of humanity," and said that "[t]he courts must intervene to ensure AI development serves the public interest." Encode's brief has garnered the support of Geoffrey Hinton, a pioneer in the AI field and 2024 Nobel Laureate, and UC Berkeley computer science professor and director at the Center for Human-Compatible AI Stuart Russell. "OpenAI was founded as an explicitly safety-focused nonprofit and made a variety of safety-related promises in its charter," Hinton said in a press release. "It received numerous tax and other benefits from its nonprofit status. Allowing it to tear all of that up when it becomes inconvenient sends a very bad message to other actors in the ecosystem." OpenAI was launched in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab. But as its experiments became increasingly capital-intensive, it created its current structure, taking on outside investments from VCs and companies, including Microsoft. Today, OpenAI has a hybrid structure: a for-profit side controlled by a nonprofit with a "capped profit" share for investors and employees. But in a blog post this morning, the company said it plans to begin transitioning its existing for-profit into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), with ordinary shares of stock and the OpenAI mission as its public benefit interest. OpenAI's nonprofit will remain but will cede control in exchange for shares in the PBC. Musk, an early contributor to the original nonprofit entity, filed suit in November requesting an injunction to halt the proposed change, which has long been in the works. He accused OpenAI of abandoning its original philanthropic mission of making the fruits of its AI research available to all, and of depriving rivals of capital -- including his AI startup, xAI -- through anticompetitive means. OpenAI has called Musk's complaints "baseless" and simply a case of sour grapes. Facebook's parent company and AI rival, Meta, is also supporting efforts to block OpenAI's conversion. In December, Meta sent a letter to California attorney general Rob Bonta, arguing that allowing the shift would have "seismic implications for Silicon Valley." Lawyers for Encode said that OpenAI's plans to transfer control of its operations to a PBC would "convert an organization bound by law to ensure the safety of advanced AI into one bound by law to 'balance' its consideration of any public benefit against 'the pecuniary interests of [its] stockholders.'" Encode's counsel notes in the brief, for example, that OpenAI's nonprofit has committed to stop competing with any "value-aligned, safety-conscious project" that comes close to building AGI before it does, but that OpenAI as a for-profit would have less (if any) incentive to do so. The brief also points out that the nonprofit OpenAI's board will no longer be able to cancel investors' equity if needed for safety once the company's restructuring is completed. OpenAI continues to experience an outflow of high-level talent due in part to concerns that the company is prioritizing commercial products at the expense of safety. One former employee, Miles Brundage, a longtime policy researcher who left OpenAI in October, said in a series of posts on X that he worries about OpenAI's nonprofit becoming a "side thing" that gives license to the PBC to operate as a "normal company" without addressing potentially problematic areas. "OpenAI's touted fiduciary duty to humanity would evaporate, as Delaware law is clear that the directors of a PBC owe no duty to the public at all," Encode's brief continued. "The public interest would be harmed by a safety-focused, mission-constrained nonprofit relinquishing control over something so transformative at any price to a for-profit enterprise with no enforceable commitment to safety." Encode, founded in July 2020 by Revanur, describes itself as a network of volunteers focused on ensuring voices of younger generations are heard in conversations about AI's impacts. Encode has contributed to various pieces of AI state and federal legislation in addition to SB 1047, including the White House's AI Bill of Rights and President Joe Biden's executive order on AI.

Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk's effort to block OpenAI's for-profit transition

Encode, the nonprofit org that co-sponsored California's ill-fated SB 1047 AI safety legislation, has requested permission to file an amicus brief in support of Elon Musk's injunction to halt OpenAI's transition to a for-profit. In a proposed brief submitted to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Friday afternoon, counsel for Encode said that OpenAI's conversion to a for-profit would "undermine" the firm's mission to "develop and deploy ... transformative technology in a way that is safe and beneficial to the public." "OpenAI and its CEO, Sam Altman, claim to be developing society-transforming technology, and those claims should be taken seriously," the brief read. "If the world truly is at the cusp of a new age of artificial general intelligence (AGI), then the public has a profound interest in having that technology controlled by a public charity legally bound to prioritize safety and the public benefit rather than an organization focused on generating financial returns for a few privileged investors." OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab. But as its experiments became increasingly capital-intensive, it created its current structure, taking on outside investments from VCs and companies including Microsoft. Today, OpenAI has a for-profit org controlled by a nonprofit with a "capped profit" share for investors and employees. But in a blog post published Friday, the company said it plans to begin transitioning its existing for-profit into a Delaware Public Benefit Corporation (PBC), with ordinary shares of stock and the OpenAI mission as its public benefit interest. Musk filed for a preliminary injunction to halt the company's transition to a for-profit, which has long been in the works, late in November. He accuses OpenAI of abandoning its original philanthropic mission to make the fruits of its AI research available to all, and of depriving rivals including Musk's xAI of capital through anticompetitive tactics. OpenAI has called Musk's complaints "baseless" and simply a case of sour grapes. Facebook's parent company and AI rival, Meta, is also supporting efforts to block OpenAI's conversion. In December, Meta sent a letter to California attorney general Rob Bonta, arguing that allowing the shift would have "seismic implications for Silicon Valley." Lawyers for Encode said that OpenAI's plans to transfer control of its operations to a PBC would "convert an organization bound by law to ensure the safety of advanced AI into one bound by law to 'balance' its consideration of any public benefit against 'the pecuniary interests of [its] stockholders.' "OpenAI's touted fiduciary duty to humanity would evaporate, as Delaware law is clear that the directors of a PBC owe no duty to the public at all," Encode's brief continued. "The public interest would be harmed by a safety-focused, mission-constrained nonprofit relinquishing control over something so transformative at any price to a for-profit enterprise with no enforceable commitment to safety." Encode, founded in July 2020 by high school student Sneha Revanur, describes itself as a network of volunteers focused on ensuring voices of younger generations are heard in conversations about AI's impacts. Encode has contributed to various pieces of AI state and federal legislation in addition to SB 1047, including the White House's AI Bill of Rights and President Joe Biden's Executive Order on AI.