In a lawsuit against OpenAI, Elon Musk made harsh criticisms of OpenAI's safety record in newly released court testimony. He claimed that his own company, xAI, places greater emphasis on safety and said, "No one has committed suicide because of Grok, but obviously someone has committed suicide because of ChatGPT."

Musk's testimony was recorded last September and submitted as a public document this week. He linked the "suicide incidents" to ChatGPT, aiming to attack OpenAI for neglecting AI safety in its pursuit of profit. Musk claimed that OpenAI's transition from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit structure violated its original mission, leading the company to prioritize speed, scale, and revenue over safety in decision-making.

However, Musk's testimony has also sparked controversy. Although he criticized OpenAI, his own xAI is also involved in a major safety scandal. In January of this year, a large number of non-consensual explicit images generated by Grok appeared on the social media platform X, triggering widespread investigations by regulators and the European Union.

In his testimony, Musk also discussed the following key points:

  • About signing the open letter to pause AI development: He said he signed it because "it seemed like a good idea," aiming to urge the industry to remain cautious in AI development.

  • About the donation amount: He admitted that the previously mentioned claim of donating "100 million dollars" to OpenAI was inaccurate. Financial records show that the actual donation was approximately 44.8 million dollars.

  • About the risks of AGI: He reiterated that general artificial intelligence poses significant risks and recalled that one of the initial reasons for creating OpenAI was to counter Google's monopoly in the AI field.