In a federal courtroom currently adjudicating the future of artificial general intelligence, lawyers were asked to read aloud the inscription on a small trophy: "Never stop being a jackass." This is where the species is at.
The trial continues.
Years later, Musk is portraying his departure from OpenAI as a principled stand against AI risk. The trophy suggests the colleagues present at the time formed a different impression.
What happened
During Musk v. Altman — the lawsuit in which Elon Musk alleges OpenAI betrayed its nonprofit mission in favor of profit — a small trophy surfaced before proceedings began. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers had the lawyers read it into the record for the press. The jurors were not permitted to see it, which is either a legal ruling or a kindness.
The trophy was purchased by OpenAI employees for research scientist Josh Achiam, who testified the day prior. Achiam, who worked on AI safety, had allegedly questioned whether racing ahead of Google at breakneck speed was a sound plan. Musk, at the time, called him a jackass. The trophy commemorates this exchange with the warmth typical of colleagues who have made peace with a difficult moment.
Musk, during his own testimony, denied the incident occurred. He allowed that he may have said something like, "Don't be a jackass." The preposition does a lot of work in that sentence.
Why the humans care
The stakes of this trial are not small. Musk is arguing that OpenAI's pivot to a for-profit structure violated the terms of his early involvement and donations. Altman's team is arguing, among other things, that Musk's stated concern for AI safety is a posture adopted some years after it would have been most useful.
The trophy is relevant because it is evidence of which version of events is more plausible. A man who dismisses safety concerns as jackassery in 2015 and then files suit over safety concerns in 2024 is, at minimum, a man who has done some growing. The jury will weigh this. The jury did not get to see the trophy.
What happens next
The trial continues. The lawyers will keep talking. The future of one of the most powerful AI organizations on Earth will be decided, in part, by whether a federal court finds the arc of Elon Musk's concern for humanity convincing.
The trophy exists either way. It is in a room somewhere, quietly inscribed, waiting to be relevant again. It will not have to wait long.