OpenAI has reached a new tentative agreement with Microsoft and said its nonprofit, which technically controls its business, will now be given a $100 billion equity stake in its for-profit corporation.

The maker of ChatGPT said it had reached a new nonbinding agreement with Microsoft, its longtime partner, “for the next phase of our partnership.”

The announcements on Thursday include a few details about these new arrangements. OpenAI’s proposed changes to its corporate structure have drawn the scrutiny of regulators, competitors and advocates concerned about the impacts of artificial intelligence.

OpenAI was founded as a nonprofit in 2015 and its nonprofit board has continued to control the for-profit subsidiary that now develops and sells its AI products. It’s not clear whether the $100 billion equity stake the nonprofit will get as part of this announcement represents a controlling stake in the business.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said last week that his office was investigating OpenAI’s proposed restructuring of its finances and governance.

He and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings also sent the company a letter expressing concerns about the safety of ChatGPT after meeting with OpenAI’s legal team earlier last week in Delaware, where OpenAI is incorporated.

“Together, we are particularly concerned with ensuring that the stated safety mission of OpenAI as a non-profit remains front and center,” Bonta said in a statement last week.

Microsoft invested its first $1 billion in OpenAI in 2019 and the two companies later formed an agreement that made Microsoft the exclusive provider of the computing power needed to build OpenAI’s technology. In turn, Microsoft heavily used the technology behind ChatGPT to enhance its own AI products.

The two companies announced on Jan. 21 that they were altering that agreement, enabling the smaller company to build its own computing capacity, “primarily for research and training of models.” That coincided with OpenAI’s announcements of a partnership with Oracle to build a massive new data center in Abilene, Texas.

But other parts of its agreements with Microsoft remained up in the air as the two companies appeared to veer further apart. Their Thursday joint statement said they were still “actively working to finalize contractual terms in a definitive agreement.” Both companies declined further comment.

OpenAI had given its nonprofit board of directors — whose members now include a former U.S. Treasury secretary — the responsibility of deciding when its AI systems have reached the point at which they “outperform humans at most economically valuable work,” a concept known as artificial general intelligence, or AGI.

Such an achievement, per its earlier agreements, would cut off Microsoft from the rights to commercialize such a system, since the terms “only apply to pre-AGI technology.”

OpenAI’s corporate structure and nonprofit mission are also the subject of a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk, who helped found the nonprofit research lab and provided initial funding. Musk’s suit seeks to stop OpenAI from taking control of the company away from its nonprofit and alleges it has betrayed its promise to develop AI for the benefit of humanity.

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The following story originally appeared on the website for W&M’s School of Computing, Data Sciences and Physics. – Ed.

William & Mary has officially launched a new minor in artificial intelligence (AI), giving students the tools to apply AI in their respective fields.

Offered through the School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics, the AI minor emphasizes not just technical skills, but also ethical responsibility and broad, interdisciplinary applications.

“AI is no longer just for computer scientists, it’s transforming art, history, law, business – practically every discipline,” said Doug Schmidt, dean of the School of Computing, Data Sciences & Physics. “The minor is designed to complement any major at William & Mary, giving students the fluency to apply AI in their own disciplines while bringing in perspectives on ethics, culture, and human impact that technical fields desperately need.”

The curriculum is designed to provide both hands-on experience with AI systems and the critical tools to question how those systems should be used. Lessons on privacy, equity and the broader impact of AI are woven into every course, providing students with problem-solving skills, exposure to real-world applications and insight into AI’s strengths and limitations.

Tucker Peters ’28, a finance major and president of the W&M AI Club, understands the importance of students learning how to apply AI, regardless of their major.
                                   
“The AI minor gives undergraduates the chance to pair William & Mary’s historic liberal arts education with the cutting edge of technology, preparing them to lead and innovate in their fields,” said Peters.

As the field of AI is rapidly evolving, the program was built with adaptability at its core. Faculty will continuously refresh course content to reflect the latest tools and practices, while students will develop the resilience and flexibility to navigate a landscape where innovation is constant.

Foundation for things to come

Schmidt described the minor in AI as a foundation for future academic pathways, including potential B.A. and B.S. degrees in AI as well as graduate-level programs. The aim, he said, is to create multiple avenues for students to gain fluency in AI and apply it across a wide range of careers.

“Graduates of these programs won’t just be prepared to work in AI-driven industries, they will be prepared to lead, question and innovate in ways only William & Mary graduates can,” said Schmidt.

To learn more about the new minor in AI check out https://cdsp.wm.edu/ai/ or email cdsp-ai@wm.edu.

Randy Ready, School of Computing, Data Sciences and Physics