The significance of this resignation, given Larry Summers’ stature as a board member. His decision follows the release of disturbing email correspondence between him and the late Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was finally arrested in July 2019 for the sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. His not-so-undisclosed communications with Summers have created this double down effect that’s sparked skepticism and scrutiny.
These email exchanges, lifted from a period in the Fall of 2018 through Mid-Summer 2019, paint a picture of Summers and Epstein’s network. In that period, Epstein described himself as Summers’s “wing man,” boasting of an exceptionally close—and, as it turned out, very compromising—relationship. In a June 2019 missive, Epstein advised Summers to take the “long game” with the lady in query. A compelling advocate for a dueling, manipulative strategy, she suggested holding her opponent in a “forced holding pattern.”
In a third exchange, Epstein chillingly told one girl, “She is destined to your own.” This shocking statement shows the deeply disturbing content of their communications. These confounding facts only came to light after a House committee majority released the emails, followed by a media firestorm and public uproar.
Summers responded to the failure with an impressive statement. He went on to vocally lament that women’s mental health reported on in emails. He remarked, “She must be very confused or maybe wants to cut me off but wants professional connection a lot and so holds to it.” This remark may be the clearest shorthand to describe the interactive dynamic among all the players. It also begs even larger questions about the ethics of such associations.
With Summers resigning from OpenAI, this represents a seabed shifting move for the organization. Now OpenAI has to figure out how to deal with the aftermath from these disclosures. With one of its big names now gone, the integrity and reputation of the board itself is now under examination as it heads onward.
