Elon Musk's $97.4bn Bid for OpenAI Sparks Controversy at Paris AI Summit

Has Elon Musk just put OpenAI in a tricky situation?

The AI summit in Paris is a coming together of world leaders and technology firms designed to shape a responsible and sustainable future for artificial intelligence. But the big political day of the summit was overshadowed by a bust-up between rival billionaire tech-bros. It would be easy to write it off as a typically mischievous play by Mr Musk. But his move is calculated and potentially very problematic for Mr Altman. OpenAI, which brought the world ChatGPT, is one of the global leaders in AI. Mr Altman has ambitious plans for growth. But in order to deliver on them, he wants to free OpenAI from the non-for-profit company that owns it. That involves him essentially buying his own company from the non-profit board that formally owns it. It's rumoured the sum he was considering paying was around $40bn (£32.3bn). So Musk's far higher offer puts the not-for-profit board in a tricky situation. If they refuse Mr Musk's offer, can they accept a far lower one from Mr Altman and still be doing their job according to the rules of the company's non-profit status? Or could Mr Musk have effectively forced Mr Altman to pay more than double for his own company? Read more from Sky News: Teacher admits stabbing girl to death Nationwide power outage blamed on monkey Dozens of unexploded WW2 bombs found in playpark It's part of a long-running feud between the pair, who co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit entity for the benefit of humanity. And one that won't be of much interest to the political leaders convening in Paris. But it does speak to a concern AI safety campaigners have long held when it comes to the technology. How can we trust AI when it's controlled by a few, often capricious, billionaires? What further worries campaigners is that AI safety and regulation have been given short-shrift at the summit. In his address, US vice president JD Vance said the new "industrial revolution" that AI promises "will never come to pass if overregulation deters innovators from taking the risks necessary". European leaders, who have long held a tougher stance on AI regulation, seem to be softening their stance too. Concerned, perhaps, that if they don't follow America they won't be able to attract AI firms to their countries and have their own share of the power AI promises to bring.

OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman tells Sky News his platform can be safer

OpenAI's chief executive and co-founder has told Sky News that his platform can be safer amid concerns that red tape around artificial intelligence will be resisted as businesses say it stifles innovation. Sam Altman, who is attending the Paris AI Summit with world leaders, was asked if he can reassure users that one of the fastest-growing generative AI platforms will continue to put safety at the forefront of what the company does. It comes as US vice president JD Vance is delivering a candid message on Europe's regulation of artificial intelligence and moderation of content on Big Tech. Questioned by Sky's science and technology editor Tom Clarke on Monday morning, Mr Altman said: "Safety is integral to what we do.... We've got to make these systems really safe for people, or people just won't use them. It's the same thing and we'll work super hard on that." Acknowledging that safety is not high on the summit's agenda, he added: "That's not actually the main thing that we've been hearing about - the main concern has been 'can we make this cheaper. can you have more of it, can we get it better and more advanced'." But asked if OpenAI can look at all of those elements as well as safety, he added: "Yes, we can also do that." Overnight, a group led by another of OpenAI's co-founders Elon Musk made a $97.4bn (£78.7bn) bid to buy OpenAI just months after the X owner sued the artificial intelligence start-up. "It's time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was," Mr Musk said in a statement on Monday. "We will make sure that happens."