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Former US Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers has stepped down from the board of OpenAI following the release of emails that showed he solicited advice from the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein on pursuing a relationship with a female mentee.
Summers was among a number of high-profile figures shown to have exchanged emails with the late sex offender after a House of Representatives committee released a tranche of Epstein’s correspondence last week.
“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a statement.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress,” he added.
Earlier this week, Summers said that he would step back from “public commitments” following the release of the Epstein documents, which showed he had asked the late paedophile for advice on an extramarital relationship between 2018 and 2019.
Summers joined the OpenAI board in November 2023 following the temporary ousting of CEO Sam Altman by its old board.
“Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors, and we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board,” the OpenAI Board of Directors said.
Summers has already withdrawn from roles at a variety of think tanks, including the Yale Budget Lab, the Center for American Progress, the Center for Global Development and the Hamilton Project. The New York Times has said it would not be renewing his contract as a columnist. But Summers has said he intends to continue teaching at Harvard University, where he is a professor.
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