🔗 Share this article Former Treasury Secretary Summers Steps Down from OpenAI Board The economist announced he would withdraw from public duties after House committee made public his frequent messages with Jeffrey Epstein Former US treasury secretary Larry Summers is exiting the board at the artificial intelligence firm, just a week after a batch of digital correspondence between him and notorious criminal the accused trafficker became publicly available. The economist commented in a release that he was "thankful for the chance to have participated, excited about the promise of the enterprise, and look forward observing their progress". The former Harvard president, who once led the Ivy League institution, announced on recently that he would be scaling back from public commitments due to his relationship with the convicted sex offender. Email Communications The recently released messages demonstrated that Summers exchanged messages with the financier until the 24 hours preceding the financier's 2019 detention for accused trafficking of underage individuals. In a separate statement, the technology organization stated it understood Summers' determination to step down. "We acknowledge his many contributions and the perspective he provided to the governing body," OpenAI remarked. Political Context This development follows after both chambers of the legislative branch agreed on Tuesday to approve a bill that would require the Department of Justice to release its documents on Jeffrey Epstein. The bill will subsequently proceed to the office of the White House for endorsement. Trump has stated he plans to sign the bill, after reversing his stance on the matter following pushback from his followers. Message Details A batch of Epstein-related correspondence made public by the legislative panel last week referenced multiple well-known personalities in the billionaire's former circle, without suggesting any illegal behavior by those figures. The communications revealed that the economist and the financier dined together frequently, with Epstein often trying to connect the official to prominent global figures. Personal Accountability After the correspondence were made available with the general audience, Summers expressed he assumed "total ownership for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr Epstein". He continued that he wanted "to rebuild trust and mend connections with the people closest to me". Professional History The professor occupied leadership roles under Democratic administrations; acting as treasury secretary under Bill Clinton, and as director of the White House economic team under Barack Obama. He presided over Harvard from five years and is still a academic there. When stating his withdrawal from public commitments earlier on this week, he stated he would continue his educational duties. Other Impacts Following the economist's announcement on earlier this week, the policy organization, a progressive research organization in Washington where he was a senior fellow, verified that Summers was ceased to be affiliated with the group. The former official entered the board of OpenAI, which makes the language model, in the previous year - following a failed attempt to oust its CEO Sam Altman.