The competition in the field of artificial intelligence is evolving into a psychological battle over "evidence preservation." Recently, OpenAI submitted a significant document to the court, publicly accusing Elon Musk's xAI company of systematically using encrypted communication tools to destroy key evidence during the litigation process between the two parties.

According to OpenAI's disclosure, xAI required its employees to generally use instant messaging software with "auto-delete" functions for business communications. Since these tools automatically delete chat records after a set period, OpenAI faced a situation where it could not obtain internal documents related to antitrust allegations. OpenAI's lawyers stated in the document that this practice placed the defendant in an extremely disadvantaged position during the defense.

This legal confrontation began last August when xAI, in collaboration with the X platform, sued OpenAI and its partner Apple Inc., accusing them of monopolistic practices in their technology integration and demanding compensation of billions of dollars. Although OpenAI has completely denied the allegations, this dispute over "burn-after-reading" evidence has undoubtedly added more tension to this judicial battle involving Silicon Valley giants.

Currently, OpenAI has formally requested the court to issue a ruling, asking xAI employees to stop using such communication tools and proposing to appoint neutral legal experts to conduct a thorough investigation into potential evidence destruction, ensuring the fairness of the case trial.

Key Points:

  • 🛡️ Alleged Intentional Destruction: OpenAI accuses xAI of instructing employees to use tools that automatically delete records, even though they were aware of their litigation obligations, in order to avoid evidence retrieval.

  • ⚔️ Escalation of Legal Battle: This move targets xAI's previous antitrust allegations, as OpenAI believes the other party has provided no emails or chat records to support its claims.

  • ⚖️ Request for Court Intervention: OpenAI has requested the appointment of professional neutral legal specialists to examine the current state of evidence and called for a ban on the plaintiff's continued use of "burn-after-reading" communication methods.