Opinion: Why California’s attorney general must continue investigating OpenAI

Just days after abandoning its planned conversion to a for-profit entity and proclaiming it would remain a nonprofit OpenAI puzzled us with another announcement a nearly billion deal to buy io a start-up created by former Apple executive and iPhone designer Jony Ive This isn t the only business deal OpenAI has in the works The company also revealed plans to build a massive new information center in the United Arab Emirates and has reportedly purchased AI startup Windsurf If anyone was under the impression that OpenAI s decision to remain a nonprofit is a win for the society its profit-driven business moves should put that to rest Deals like these which require OpenAI to sell stakes in the company erode the nonprofit s control of the business Related Articles Musk s AI company scrubs inappropriate posts after Grok chatbot makes antisemitic comments Companies keep slashing jobs How worried should workers be about AI replacing them Chipmaker Nvidia becomes the majority valuable company in the world at trillion Bay Area lawmaker pushes to require AI companies to release safety policies Apple loses top AI models executive to Mark Zuckerberg s hiring spree Meanwhile OpenAI has still not answered fundamental questions about how their conversion to a citizens benefit corporation will maintain the nonprofit s independent oversight Which of OpenAI s entities owns the technologies it develops How will OpenAI avoid conflicts of interest and self-dealing among executives and investors Who will reap the funds that the for-profit sows Majority of all what happens when shareholder interests conflict with the residents interest that the nonprofit is legally bound to serve Without answers to these critical questions the investigations into OpenAI s structure by the California and Delaware attorneys general must continue OpenAI was originally founded as a nonprofit to ensure artificial intelligence would benefit all of humanity This day it is operating under a structure that allows profit and commercial gain to take priority over its mission to serve the populace good Since OpenAI has methodically shifted power away from its nonprofit parent organization into a tangled web of business deals and investor relationships Meanwhile the nonprofit increasingly plays the role of a weak and passive bystander rather than a steward of the society interest its assets are largely unaccounted for and its ability to steer AI toward meaningful constituents benefits is deeply compromised OpenAI s latest pivot is a clever rebranding of its problematic business-as-usual approach It s a way to deflect lawsuits avoid further scrutiny and put the interests of investors ahead of the everyday people OpenAI is legally required to serve The inhabitants deserves answers and transparency While disputes over governance structures and the legalities of nonprofit ownership may seem tedious and disconnected from the lives of everyday people OpenAI s future has huge implications for the well-being of society On the one hand artificial intelligence is leading to breakthroughs that are helping us adapt to situation change detect deadly diseases and totally give us more time back in our busy lives On the opposite end the innovation is also accelerating greenhouse gas emissions while leading to wrongful incarceration unemployment and worldwide misinformation In OpenAI s own founding words It s hard to fathom how much human-level AI could benefit society and it s equally hard to imagine how much it could damage society if built or used incorrectly If OpenAI s charitable assets were separated from its commercial interests and put into the hands of a fully independent nonprofit that can carry out its original mission there is a much better chance of ensuring the positive future vision for AI than the negative That s why the attorneys general of California and Delaware need to take decisive action in their ongoing investigations into OpenAI s restructuring There must be robust study and oversight of OpenAI s governance structure including a review of past compliance with California charitable law All nonprofit assets unrelated to governance should be fairly valued and required to transfer to a new fully independent charitable entity dedicated to maximizing society benefit Lastly the nonprofit board demands true independence and ongoing oversight power to hold OpenAI accountable OpenAI started as a nonprofit which means it must serve the society good not private interests Yet for years OpenAI has been using those charitable assets for commercial purposes violating its mission There must be a clear separation That s what OpenAI promised when it started and it s what the society deserves Orson Aguilar is the founding president and CEO of LatinoProsperity Catherine Bracy is the founder and CEO of TechEquity and author of World Eaters