The jury was chosen Monday on the first day of the trial for Musk vs. Altman in federal court in Oakland, California. Some of the jurors who were eventually selected expressed concerns about Musk himself, as well as the AI technology at the heart of the case, but assured the court that they would put these concerns aside for the trial. The shooting spree also triggered a series of explosions outside the courtroom.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and president Greg Brockman appeared in the security line inside the courthouse this morning, but Elon Musk it was nowhere to be found. Several journalists crowded into the overflow room to listen to the audio stream of the trial.
The goal today was to select nine jurors who could be fair and impartial in this case—a very difficult challenge given that the protagonists are some of the world’s leading technology executives. Several potential jurors said they had negative opinions about Musk when questioned by Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers and attorneys. But that does not necessarily disqualify them; Only one judge was excused based on their negative comments about Musk.
“The truth is that a lot of people don’t like him,” Gonzalez Rogers told the courtroom. He added that he believes Americans with negative feelings about Musk can still be fair to the court process and decide the case fairly. The jury will help determine the underlying facts about whether Sam Altman and the other defendants improperly directed the nonprofit OpenAI venture. its original purposepotentially breaking the law in the process. But their decision will be advisory—Gonzalez Rogers will have the final call.
The nine jurors who were ultimately selected represent a very diverse group, including a painter, a former Lockheed Martin employee, and a psychiatrist. Some said they had a negative view of artificial intelligence technology more broadly. However, in the end, all the people selected assured the court that their outside opinions about Musk and AI should not interfere with their ability to determine the facts of the case.
OpenAI’s attorney William Savitt said in a press conference afterward that he was satisfied with the jury’s verdict.
“Mr. Altman, Mr. Brockman, and OpenAI are looking forward to presenting their case to that jury. They are confident in their position and they are looking forward to the truth,” Savitt told reporters. “The hurdle we think we need to clear is just presenting the truth here. We have a story about what happened that is true, that is true, and we just want the jury to see that.”
Musk is already trying to win his case in the court of public opinion. On Monday morning, the billionaire used his social network X promote a recent New Yorker investigation into Altman’s allegedly fraudulent business practices. The story is of the week, and the fact that Musk promoted it on the first day of the trial is no coincidence. Early this morning, the official OpenAI newsroom account posted a post on X calling Musk’s lawsuit “an attempt to undermine our work to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity.” Meanwhile, protesters were outside the court protesting the AI race altogether and calling for a halt to further development.
On Tuesday, lawyers for OpenAI and Elon Musk will make opening statements, and the first witness in the case will be called to the stand.
This is a version of by Maxwell Zeff Journal of Model Behavior. Read previous articles here.
