🔗 Share this article

Former US treasury secretary Lawrence Summers is exiting the governing body at OpenAI, just several days after a series of digital correspondence between him and notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein became widely known.

The economist commented in a statement that he was "thankful for the chance to have served, optimistic about the promise of the enterprise, and eagerly await tracking their progress".

The former Harvard president, who previously headed Harvard University, stated on recently that he would be withdrawing from public responsibilities due to his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

Message Exchange

The freshly disclosed messages revealed that Summers exchanged messages with Jeffrey Epstein until the day before Epstein's 2019 arrest for accused human trafficking of minors.

In a separate statement, the artificial intelligence company expressed it accepted his determination to step down.

"We value his numerous inputs and the viewpoint he provided to the Board," the company stated.

Political Context

This announcement comes after both chambers of the legislative branch agreed on Tuesday to pass a measure that would mandate the federal prosecutors to release its documents on the case.

The measure will then head to the administration of the White House for signature. The President has stated he intends to sign the measure, after reversing his view on the subject following pressure from his followers.

Message Details

A collection of Epstein-related messages released by the House Oversight Committee last week mentioned multiple prominent individuals in the Epstein's past associates, without suggesting any legal wrongdoing by those people.

The messages revealed that the professor and the financier often met for meals, with the billionaire often trying to connect the official to influential global figures.

Personal Accountability

After the correspondence were released with the general audience, the former official expressed he accepted "total ownership for my poor decision to continue corresponding with Mr Epstein".

He further stated that he desired "to restore confidence and fix connections with the people nearest to me".

Professional History

Summers held high-level positions under Democratic administrations; serving as Treasury chief under President Clinton, and as director of the National Economic Council under the former leader.

He led the institution from 2001 to 2006 and is still a academic there. When stating his step-down from public duties previously on Monday, he indicated he would continue his teaching commitments.

Additional Consequences

Following his statement on Monday, the policy organization, a left-leaning think tank in the capital where he was a prominent member, confirmed that he was not affiliated with the group.

The former official joined the directorate of the AI company, which makes ChatGPT, in last year - following a defeated move to remove its CEO the company leader.