This week on Uncanny Valley, the team discusses the stakes behind the trial of Elon Musk against OpenAI’s leadership (and how Microsoft is trying to stay away from the drama). They also look into what recent layoffs announced at Meta and the industry at large say about the ways in which AI is—and isn’t—replacing jobs. Also, we dive into a … investigation on how the Department of Justice has effectively hollowed out its voting rights work, and how this move could impact future elections.
Articles mentioned in this episode:
- Musk v. Altman Is a Battle for OpenAI’s Soul
- Some Musk v. Altman Jurors Don't Like Elon Musk
- ‘It’s Undignified’: Hundreds of Workers Training Meta’s AI Could Be Laid Off
- ‘The Damage Is Massive’: How the Justice Department Dismantled Its Voting Rights Section
You can follow Brian Barrett on Bluesky at @brbarrett, Zoë Schiffer on Bluesky at @zoeschiffer, and Leah Feiger on Bluesky at @leahfeiger. Write to us at [email protected].
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Transcript
Note: This is an automated transcript, which may contain errors.
Zoë Schiffer: Welcome to …'s Uncanny Valley. I'm Zoë Schiffer, director of business and industry.
Brian Barrett: I'm Brian Barrett, executive editor.
Leah Feiger: And I'm Leah Feiger, director of politics and science.
Zoë Schiffer: Today on the show, we're going to a federal courthouse in Oakland, California to take a look at what has been going down in the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial. We're going to get into how the trial goes way beyond the rivalry between these two guys and could have major implications both for OpenAI, but also for the AI industry at large.
Brian Barrett: Speaking of AI, we'll also discuss whether Meta's recent layoffs are a turning point for AI taken over certain jobs.
Leah Feiger: And we're going to touch on a story that has gone a little bit under the radar, but it matters now more than ever. The DOJ voting section has been gutted this past year. Dozens of lawyers have been ousted, and these lawyers were the ones in the government that were upholding the Voting Rights Act, lots to get into.
Zoë Schiffer: OK. So let's kick things off with the Elon Musk versus Sam Altman trial. So the jury trial kicked off earlier this week, but the legal feud between these two guys dates back to 2024. Back then, Musk sued OpenAI, basically alleging two things. First, he said that the company had strayed from its founding mission to create AI that benefits all of humanity. And second, that he was misled by Sam Altman and OpenAI's president, Greg Brockman, into contributing millions of dollars because he thought he was supporting a nonprofit. As you might have guessed, OpenAI's very weird structure is kind of central to this dispute. While its nonprofit arm controls the company, it created a for-profit arm to raise outside capital, and now it's trying to become a public benefit corporation. OpenAI has denied the allegations. They're saying that Musk just wants to hurt OpenAI because now he has a competitive AI lab, which is xAI. And in fact, the lawsuit was only filed after Musk started xAI, although the feud has been going on basically since Elon Musk left OpenAI years and years ago. Now, it's up to a jury and the judge who's overseeing the case to ultimately decide what happens next.
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