Shivon Zilis Testifies in Musk's Lawsuit Against OpenAI

Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis testified on Wednesday in Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, addressing allegations that she acted as an informant for Musk during her tenure on OpenAI's board from 2020 to 2023.

Musk's lawsuit alleges that OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, and President, Greg Brockman, breached a founding agreement by restructuring the company from a non-profit to a for-profit entity. Musk seeks the removal of Altman and Brockman from their positions, the reversal of the for-profit restructuring, and $134 billion in damages to be redistributed to OpenAI's non-profit arm.

OpenAI denies Musk's allegations, arguing that he was supportive of the shift to a for-profit structure and left the company in 2018 after a failed bid for control.

Zilis, who met Musk through her work at OpenAI, became romantically involved with him around 2016. She has four children with Musk and resides in Austin, where he stays when visiting their children.

During her testimony, Zilis recounted her early interest in artificial intelligence, sparked by reading Ray Kurzweil's 'The Age of Spiritual Machines' at age 13. She attended Yale University and began her tech career at IBM, later joining OpenAI as an adviser in 2016. By mid-2017, she was working for Musk at Tesla and Neuralink.

OpenAI's board was aware of Zilis's relationship with Musk, and she remained on the board until 2023, when Musk founded his own AI company, xAI.

The trial continues as both parties present their arguments regarding OpenAI's restructuring and the roles of key individuals involved.