Former Treasury Secretary Summers Resigns from OpenAI Board
Ex-Treasury chief the Harvard professor is departing from the governing body at the artificial intelligence firm, just several days after a series of digital correspondence between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became public.
He commented in an announcement that he was "thankful for the privilege to have served, excited about the promise of the company, and anticipate observing their advancement".
Summers, who previously headed the Ivy League institution, announced on Monday that he would be stepping back from public responsibilities due to his association with Epstein.
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The recently released communications revealed that Summers communicated with Epstein until the day before his 2019 detention for alleged trafficking of underage individuals.
In a separate statement, the AI firm stated it accepted Summers' choice to depart.
"We value his numerous inputs and the viewpoint he offered to the directors," the organization commented.
Legislative Background
This development comes after both chambers of the US legislature voted on Tuesday to endorse a legislation that would compel the Department of Justice to make public its records on Jeffrey Epstein.
The bill will subsequently head to the desk of US President Donald Trump for signature. He has said he intends to endorse the measure, after modifying his view on the matter following pressure from his supporters.
Email Contents
A group of Epstein-related messages disclosed by the Congressional committee days ago referenced numerous high-profile figures in the financier's former circle, without implying any criminal activity by those figures.
The messages revealed that the economist and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with Epstein often attempting to connect Summers to notable international personalities.
Personal Accountability
After the messages were released with the public, the former official expressed he took "total ownership for my ill-advised choice to continue interacting with Jeffrey Epstein".
He further stated that he hoped "to reestablish faith and mend connections with the individuals nearest to me".
Previous Positions
The professor served in senior posts under two Democratic presidents; acting as Treasury chief under the former president, and as director of the White House economic team under Barack Obama.
He led the university from 2001 to 2006 and is still a professor there. When declaring his step-down from public commitments previously on this week, he said he would continue his educational duties.
Additional Consequences
Following Summers' statement on earlier this week, the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning policy institute in Washington where Summers was a researcher, confirmed that he was not connected with the institution.
Summers became part of the board of the technology firm, which develops ChatGPT, in last year - following a defeated move to replace its CEO Sam Altman.