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Sam Altman defends OpenAI in courtroom showdown with Elon Musk

29 days ago
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The OpenAI CEO, Sam Altman, took the stand on Tuesday to defend himself and his company against a lawsuit by Elon Musk,Altman is set to be one of the final witnesses in the trial, which has pitted two of the tech industry’s most powerful men against each other in a dramatic courtroom showdown,Musk has accused Altman and OpenAI of breaking the AI firm’s founding agreement by restructuring it into a for-profit enterprise, alleging that Altman essentially swindled him into co-founding the company and providing tens of millions in financial backing,Musk also claims Altman unjustly enriched himself in the process and is seeking the CEO’s removal from OpenAI, the redistribution of $134bn to the firm’s non-profit and the undoing of its for-profit conversion,OpenAI and Altman have rejected all of Musk’s claims, arguing that he is motivated by jealousy after a failed bid to take over the AI firm in 2018 and a subsequent departure from its board.

They argue that Musk was also always aware of plans to create a for-profit structure and that OpenAI’s non-profit still oversees the for-profit business.Altman’s testimony is one of the marquee moments of the three-week trial, which has featured some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley, including Musk and Microsoft’s CEO.The outcome of the case is hugely important for OpenAI, which is seeking to go public at about a $1tn valuation later this year.In the bitter feud between Musk and Altman, the reputational stakes are winner-takes-all.When Altman took the stand just before 9am local time in the Oakland, California, federal courthouse, he began by recapping some of his career in tech before addressing some of Musk’s allegations directly.

“You, as you know, have been accused of stealing a charity,” OpenAI’s lawyer asked Altman.“What is your response to that?“It feels difficult to even wrap my head around that framing,” Altman responded.“We created the largest or one of the largest charities in the world.”“What would you say to the suggestion that OpenAI was Mr Musk’s startup?” OpenAI’s lawyer asked.“I would not agree with that characterization at all,” Altman replied.

Altman claimed in his testimony that in 2017 there were discussions at OpenAI about creating a for-profit structure but that they fell through due to disagreements over its ownership.Musk wanted to be CEO of the organization, Altman said.The CEO also alleged that when Musk was asked what would happen to control of the company in the future if he died, the centibillionaire suggested that it could go to his children.“Mr Musk felt very strongly that if we were going to form a for-profit, he needed total control over it initially,” Altman said, adding that Musk’s request made him “extremely uncomfortable”.Altman’s testimony framed Musk as an erratic, sometimes vindictive leader while at OpenAI.

He claimed that Musk had “demotivated some of our key researchers” through aggressive demands and management techniques such as ranking employees.Altman also claimed that Musk was later offered a chance to invest in OpenAI’s for-profit entity, but that he turned down the opportunity because he refused to invest in companies that he did not control on principle.At one point in the final moments of his opening testimony, Altman fit in a dig at Musk’s accusation that the OpenAI CEO had “stolen a charity”.“This whole ‘you can’t steal a charity.’ I agree you can’t steal it.

Mr Musk did try to kill it, I guess twice,” Altman said.Altman’s character and leadership of OpenAI have been a core focus of the trial, with Musk’s lawyers attempting to portray Altman as deceptive and self-serving.Several former OpenAI executives, notably those who were involved in briefly ousting Altman in 2023, have testified during the proceedings that he was untrustworthy and had a pattern of lying.Mira Murati, OpenAI’s former chief technical officer, accused him of “creating chaos”.Musk’s attorney, Steven Molo, began a combative cross-examination of Altman with a series of questions about whether Altman ever misled former colleagues or investors, asking him if he was a “completely trustworthy” person.

“You’ve repeatedly been called deceptive and a liar by people with whom you’ve done business, right?” Molo asked.“I have heard people say that,” Altman replied.Molo read out a list of statements from former OpenAI executives and other co-workers who have suggested that Altman fed them falsehoods or misrepresented himself.Molo also tried to portray Altman as the one bent on control, rather than Musk.“You had a fixation on this concept of being CEO didn’t you?” Molo asked.

“I don’t agree with that characterization,” Altman replied,Molo pressed Altman during the cross-examination on his connections to other companies, suggesting potential conflicts of interest, and questioned his dual role on the board of OpenAI’s non-profit and as its CEO,At one point, Molo asked Altman if he would ever fire himself,Altman largely responded to Molo’s aggressive questioning with short, yes-or-no responses and occasional claims that he did not recall exact details related to the case or disputed the characterization of events,The cross-examination was punctuated with frequent objections from OpenAI’s attorney, especially as Molo brought up accusations of Altman being dishonest.

The trial is the culmination of several tumultuous weeks for Altman, who was recently the target of a molotov cocktail attack at his San Francisco home and was the subject of an unflattering, widely circulated New Yorker profile, which was mentioned at the trial,Musk has also been exposed to embarrassment during the case, with details about his romantic relationship with former OpenAI board member, Shivon Zilis, becoming public and OpenAI president, Greg Brockman, describing Musk throwing a tantrum during a meeting shortly before leaving the company,The trial is set to hold its closing arguments on Thursday, followed by the nine person jury deliberating whether Altman, Brockman and OpenAI will be held liable,
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Nvidia’s Jensen Huang joins other US bosses on Trump trip to China

The billionaire chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has joined Donald Trump’s China delegation after a reported last-minute invitation, highlighting the US’s AI and tech ambitions.Huang will join a roster of US bosses including the Tesla chief executive and X owner, Elon Musk, the Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon at Trump’s 36-hour meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.The high-stakes summit is the first overseas trip for Trump since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February. The summit is expected to cover topics including that conflict, tariffs and China’s relationship with Taiwan.Huang was not on the initial list of business delegates, according to reports

29 days ago
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How to use spent tea leaves to smoke Chinese-style duck – recipe

A masterclass in smoking duck breasts the Sichuan way, but with used teabagsWhen I worked at River Cottage HQ, we used to smoke duck, rabbit and fish in a smoker made out of an old bread bin. It always felt like an exciting and alchemical way to cook, yielding incredible results, and it’s so simple, not least because food has been smoked since we first learned to cook over fire. Today’s recipe is my simple take on Chinese zhangcha duck, River Cottage-style and with a zero-waste twist by using spent teabags as the perfect fuel.It was always fun cooking at River Cottage: in between cooking lunch for our guests, we’d do cooking demos and sometimes cooked to camera (I have a cameo at the end of this video of Gill Meller making smoked duck that was filmed more than 20 years ago!)Zhangcha duck is traditionally smoked with camphor leaves and green or black tea, and while you can find camphor in some Asian supermarkets and online, tea alone does the job very well, too. Even still-wet spent teabags will work perfectly, imparting their incredible aroma into the meat

29 days ago
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Weight gain as adult increases cancer risk by up to five times, research shows

Gaining weight as an adult increases the risk of cancer by up to five times, according to research involving more than 600,000 patients.Obesity can cause 13 different cancers and is thought to be linked to another eight. But less is known about the impact on cancer risk of the amount of weight put on – and when in life it is gained.To find out, researchers at Lund University in Sweden analysed weight and cancer incidence data from more than 600,000 men and women and found there was no safe age to get heavier.The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, measured the weight of more than 250,000 men and just under 380,000 women an average of four times between the ages of 17 and 60

28 days ago
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Sarah Taylor named England men’s fielding coach while Gay, Rew and Baker are called up

On a day when England named three uncapped players in their Test squad, brought Ollie Robinson out of cold storage and officially confirmed a new selector had joined the set-up, perhaps the most significant news was the identity of their fielding coach.Sarah Taylor, the former England wicketkeeper, will be in charge of the fielding drills during the three-Test series against New Zealand that begins at Lord’s on 4 June – the first female coach to work in the men’s senior setup.The fact that Rob Key, the England men’s team director, almost mentioned it in passing was fitting for a coach who has quietly risen through the ranks. Taylor, 36, has held a number of roles in the men’s game since hanging up her gloves five years ago, including spells with Sussex men and Manchester Originals in the Hundred.This latest post is just for the New Zealand series initially but may continue through the summer

28 days ago
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Wes Streeting prepares to launch leadership challenge against Keir Starmer

Wes Streeting is preparing to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer on Thursday if the health secretary can secure the support of enough MPs to trigger a contest.Streeting’s move to force a race has sparked a frantic scramble on the left of Labour to find a candidate to oppose him, with Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner both possible contenders.The health secretary, who is considered to be on the Blairite right of the party, has been organising an attempt to oust the prime minister for days since Labour’s disastrous election results, despite his friends insisting he did not want to make the first move.Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, is the favoured replacement for Starmer by many on the soft left, but does not yet have a seat despite trying to persuade several MPs to stand down for him. His latest hopes are said to be Afzal Khan or Jeff Smith, both Manchester MPs

28 days ago
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Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes

Public institutions, from hospitals to museums, are the most international communities, both in the workforce and in those who visit. It’s something that became obvious to us when we were cooking our globally inspired meals for frontline workers at Kings College Hospital, London, during the pandemic. The menu at Café Jikoni, our new restaurant at the V&A East museum, speaks to the depth and breadth of east London’s diverse community, with dishes that cross borders, celebrate pluralism and taste like home – wherever that may be. After all, the best hospitality is all about making your guests feel at home.This dal wanders from India into Thailand; we make a curry paste from scratch at Café Jikoni, but using a good-quality one, such as Maeploy, is a smart shortcut

29 days ago
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Stephen Colbert on Trump’s 22ft gold statue at his golf club: ‘recreational idolatry’

30 days ago
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One in seven in UK prefer consulting AI chatbots to seeing doctor, study finds

28 days ago
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US Senate confirms Kevin Warsh as Federal Reserve chair, replacing Jerome Powell

28 days ago
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Sam Altman defends OpenAI in courtroom showdown with Elon Musk

29 days ago
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Florida students boo graduation speaker who called AI ‘next Industrial Revolution’

29 days ago
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Jim Furyk tells US players they need to make Ryder Cup more of a priority

28 days ago