🔗 Share this article

Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers is exiting the governing body at OpenAI, just a week after a batch of electronic messages between him and late convicted sex offender the disgraced billionaire became widely known.

He remarked in a release that he was "grateful for the chance to have served, excited about the potential of the organization, and look forward tracking their advancement".

The prominent academic, 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.

Digital Correspondence

The newly public communications revealed that Summers corresponded with Epstein until the day before his 2019 detention for alleged sex trafficking of underage individuals.

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

"We appreciate his numerous inputs and the viewpoint he brought to the governing body," the company remarked.

Congressional Action

This announcement comes after the entire Congress of Congress decided on this week to endorse a bill that would mandate the US justice department to disclose its documents on Epstein.

The bill will afterward head to the office of President Trump for endorsement. The President has indicated he expects to approve the bill, after modifying his view on the issue following objections from his supporters.

Email Contents

A collection of Epstein-related messages made public by the legislative panel recently mentioned numerous well-known personalities in the Epstein's past associates, without implying any illegal behavior by those people.

The messages showed that Summers and Epstein regularly had dinners together, with he often trying to connect the academic to notable international personalities.

Personal Response

After the messages were made available with the wider community, Summers stated he took "total ownership for my misguided choice to continue communicating with the financier".

He added that he desired "to reestablish faith and mend bonds with the persons closest to me".

Professional History

Summers served in senior posts under party leaders; acting as Treasury chief under the former president, and as head of the economic advisory body under the former leader.

He headed the university from 2001 to 2006 and remains a faculty member there. When announcing his step-down from public duties recently on Monday, he said he would maintain his teaching commitments.

Additional Consequences

Following the economist's statement on Monday, the policy organization, a left-leaning think tank in the capital where Summers was a prominent member, announced that Summers was ceased to be affiliated with the institution.

The former official entered the leadership of the technology firm, which creates ChatGPT, in 2023 - following a failed attempt to remove its top executive the company leader.