Musk v Altman: The most toxic row in tech goes on trial

Why Sam Altman and his former hero Elon Musk are taking their toxic feud to court2 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLily JamaliNorth America technology correspondentWhy Elon Musk and Sam Altman are fighting over OpenAIThe bitter feud between Elon Musk and OpenAI boss Sam Altman has raged for years, but has mostly played out online in the form of accusations, counter-accusations and jibes.Musk was at it again on Monday, calling Altman "Scam Altman" in a post on X.But starting on Tuesday, the beef between the two tech billionaires will shift to a much higher-profile forum: a federal courtroom in California, where their row will be the focus of a month-long trial.Being considered is Musk's claim that Altman - with whom he founded OpenAI - has swindled him out of millions of dollars and reneged on the ChatGPT-maker's original non-profit mission.Musk and Altman themselves will be among those to testify in a case in which the future of AI could be at stake. And while one will presumably emerge the winner, it's plausible that neither will emerge from the saga unscathed.The brawl has been likened to two heavyweight boxers heading into the ring. One observer compares it to King Kong taking on Godzilla."Musk and Altman are so big, so larger than life, and so unrelatable," says University of San Diego professor Sarah Federman, who specialises in conflict resolution. "That's what makes them so delicious to watch as they clash."Now, a nine-person jury sworn in on Monday will help determine the outcome under the oversight of Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who has promised that the wealth, power and celebrity Musk and Altman bring to the federal courthouse in Oakland will afford them "no special treatment".Musk is also suing OpenAI and its co-founder and president Greg Brockman, along with Microsoft, whom he said aided in the scheme to monetise the company - claims which Microsoft denies.Musk is asking for billions of dollars in what his lawyers call "wrongful gains" that he wants used to fund OpenAI's non-profit arm, and wants to see a shake-up at the company including the ousting of Altman.OpenAI says Musk is motivated by jealousy and regret for walking away from the company. And as the race to artificial general intelligence (AGI) barrels full steam ahead, OpenAI accuses Musk of trying to derail one of his key rivals.The origins of the rowMusk and Altman co-founded OpenAI as a non-profit in 2015 with the mission of ensuring that AGI benefits all of humanity.AGI is loosely defined as AI that surpasses human intelligence.When OpenAI was formed, Musk's star had fully ascended. He was widely viewed as a relentless technologist, bringing electric vehicles into the mainstream as the head of Tesla while also developing revolutionary reusable rocket technology at SpaceX.Altman, meanwhile, was well-known in Silicon Valley but not beyond. From his perch heading the influential tech incubator Y Combinator, his oracle-like pronouncements on Twitter were eagerly consumed by budding start-up founders.Musk and Altman were reportedly introduced by a Silicon Valley investor in 2012. Altman, still in his twenties, was 14 years younger than Musk and would go on to pitch the idea of OpenAI to the Tesla and SpaceX boss. He has previously called Musk his hero.Developing AI responsibly constituted a key part of the pitch.With OpenAI, the men were friendly collaborators with a shared belief in the technology's potential.At a joint conference appearance in 2015,…

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