A group of 12 former OpenAI employees have filed a proposed amicus brief in support of Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, opposing the organization's planned conversion from a non-profit to a for-profit corporation. The brief argues that if OpenAI's non-profit cedes control of the organization's business operations, it would "fundamentally violate its mission" to ensure AI research benefits all humanity.

The ex-employees, including Steven Adler, Rosemary Campbell, and Daniel Kokotajlo, among others, have spoken out against OpenAI's practices publicly before. They claim that OpenAI's present structure, where a non-profit controls a group of subsidiaries, is a "crucial part" of its overall strategy and "critical" to the organization's mission. Any restructuring that removes the non-profit's controlling role would not only contradict OpenAI's mission and charter commitments but also "breach the trust of employees, donors, and other stakeholders who joined and supported the organization based on these commitments."

OpenAI was founded as a non-profit in 2015, but it converted to a "capped-profit" in 2019, and is now trying to restructure once more into a public benefit corporation. When it transitioned to a capped-profit, OpenAI retained its non-profit wing, which currently has a controlling stake in the organization's corporate arm. Musk's suit against OpenAI accuses the startup of abandoning its non-profit mission, which aimed to ensure its AI research benefits all humanity.

The ex-employees' brief warns that if OpenAI is allowed to convert to a for-profit, it might be incentivized to "potentially [cut] corners" on safety and develop powerful AI "concentrated among its shareholders." A for-profit OpenAI would have little reason to abide by the "merge and assist" clause in OpenAI's current charter, which pledges that OpenAI will stop competing with and assist any "value-aligned, safety-conscious" project that achieves AGI before it does.

The brief also recounts an OpenAI all-hands meeting toward the end of 2020 during which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman allegedly stressed that the non-profit's governance and oversight were "paramount" in "guaranteeing that safety and broad societal benefits were prioritized over short-term financial gains." The brief claims that OpenAI often used its structure as a recruitment tool, assuring staff that the non-profit control was "critical" in executing its mission.

This development is the latest in a growing chorus of opposition to OpenAI's transition. Earlier this week, a group of organizations, including non-profits and labor groups like the California Teamsters, petitioned California Attorney General Rob Bonta to stop OpenAI from becoming a for-profit. They claimed the company has "failed to protect its charitable assets" and is actively "subverting its charitable mission to advance safe artificial intelligence."

OpenAI has responded to the criticism, saying that its conversion would preserve its non-profit arm and infuse it with resources to be spent on "charitable initiatives" in sectors such as healthcare, education, and science. In exchange for its controlling stake in OpenAI's enterprise, the non-profit reportedly stands to reap billions of dollars.

The stakes are high for OpenAI, which needs to complete its for-profit conversion by the end of this year or next or risk relinquishing some of the capital it has raised in recent months. The outcome of this lawsuit and the subsequent conversion will have significant implications for the future of AI research and development.

We've reached out to OpenAI for comment and will update this piece if we hear back.